Infinitely and continuously variable transmission system

An infinitely and continuously variable transmission system comprising:

• a main frame;
• a rotatable input shaft having a retaining member on a first end thereof;
• a main output gear having at least one toothed surface;
• and
• at least one drive assembly comprising
• an outer ring member pivotally mounted to the main frame about two opposed outer ring shaft members;
• first and second spiders each having an inner yoke and an outer yoke, said yokes formed by two sets of double legs set ninety degrees apart and connected to each other through a common hub, the outer yoke of each of the spiders having a pair of protruding opposed main shafts vertically fixed at the end of each leg such that the longitudinal axis of said outer yoke main shafts share the same plane and such that the pair of outer yoke main shafts of said first spider, the pair of outer yoke main shafts of said second spider and the pair of outer ring shaft members are set sixty degrees apart;
• said spider main shafts being pivotally mounted to the main frame to allow the spider to pivot with respect to the main frame;
• first and second one-way clutch assemblies concentrically mounted on each of the two outer ring shaft members and third, fourth, fifth and sixth one-way clutch assemblies concentrically mounted on each outer yoke main shaft of the first and second spiders, each said clutch assembly being freely rotatable in one direction of rotation of its carrying shaft and non-rotatable in the opposite direction of rotation of its carrying shaft and having a toothed gear on its outer perimeter for positively engaging the toothed surface of the output gear, said clutch assemblies being mounted such that they each move the main output gear in the same circular direction as their freely rotatable direction of rotation;
• an inner ring member concentric with said outer ring member and having first and second pairs of inner ring shafts on an outer perimeter of the inner ring member, said first pair of inner ring shafts being pivotally coupled to the outer ring sixty degrees apart from said first pair of outer ring shaft members and said second pair of inner ring shafts being pivotally coupled to the inner yoke of said second spider ninety degrees apart from said first pair of inner ring shafts;
• a swash plate assembly comprising an outer non-rotating portion pivotally coupled to the inner ring member by a first pair of short shafts mounted on an outer perimeter of the non-rotating portion coaxially with the outer yoke main shafts of the first spider and pivotally coupled to the inner yoke of said first spider by a second pair of short shafts on said outer perimeter of the non-rotating portion ninety degrees apart from said outer yoke main shafts of the first spider;
• an inner circular rotating portion mounted concentrically to the outer non-rotating portion;
• said inner circular rotating portion having a slot formed through its center and a centrally positioned retaining member housing for pivotally mounting the retaining member of the input shaft to thereby force the inner portion to co-rotate with the input shaft while at the same time allowing it to pivot with respect to the input shaft thereby causing the outer portion to oscillate about its axes;
• wherein the common plane shared by the longitudinal axis of each shaft passes through the point where the longitudinal axis of the retaining member intersects the longitudinal axis of the input shaft and wherein the six clutch assemblies positively engage the main output gear sequentially one at a time through corresponding sequential sixty degree rotations of the input shaft;
• and
• pivoting means connected to the inner circular rotating portion of the swash plate assembly and a shifting member for causing the inner circular rotating portion of the swash plate assembly to pivot in response to movement of the shifting member, to thereby vary the torque and revolutions per minute of the transmission system.

An infinitely and continuously variable transmission system comprising:

• a main frame;
• a rotatable input shaft driving a rotating grooved member;
• and
• at least one drive assembly comprising
• a main output gear having at least one toothed surface;
• a double yoke assembly having a fixed first yoke, a pivotable second yoke opposed to and out of phase with respect to said first yoke and a central cross assembly pivotably connected to the two opposed yokes at their respective fork ends;
• said fixed yoke having a central shaft rigidly mounted to the main frame at a rear portion thereof to thereby prevent said first yoke from either rotating or being rotatably displaced;
• said pivotable second yoke having an attached pivotable yoke shaft that cannot rotate but whose free end can be rotatably displaced thereby causing it to oscillate about infinite axes with respect to the fixed yoke to which it is pivotally mounted;
• said central cross assembly having a central hollow hub having a first pair of opposed co-axial main shafts radially and rigidly mounted on its outer perimeter in a first axis and rotatably connected to correspondingly axially oriented orifices of the fixed yoke fork ends, said shaft ends being rotatably housed in the main frame and a second pair of opposed co-axial main shafts radially and rigidly mounted on its outer perimeter in a second axis out of phase with the first axis and rotatably connected to the corresponding axially oriented orifices of the pivotable yoke fork ends, all said first and second pair shafts axis being co-planar to each other such that their theoretical extensions intersect each other vertically at the same point as the hub's multidirectional center;
• first and second one-way clutch assemblies concentrically mounted on each of the two first main shafts, each said clutch assembly being freely rotatable in one direction of rotation of its carrying shaft and non-rotatable in the opposite direction of rotation of its carrying shaft and having a toothed gear on its outer perimeter for positively engaging the toothed surface of the output gear, said clutch assemblies being mounted such that they each move the main output gear in the same circular direction as their freely rotatable direction of rotation, wherein one clutch assembly positively engages the main output gear through the first one-hundred eighty degrees of rotation of the rotating grooved member and the other clutch assembly positively engages the main output gear through the other one-hundred eighty degrees of rotation of the rotating grooved member;
• the rotating grooved member being rotatably mounted on the main frame and connected to a free end of the pivotable second yoke shaft through a first groove which passes diametrically through the grooved member surface facing said pivotable second yoke shaft, the free end of the pivotable second yoke shaft being slidably and rotatably mounted in said first groove;
• and
• displacement means connected to a shifting member and the pivotable second yoke shaft for displacing the pivotable second yoke shaft smoothly throughout the length of the groove while the grooved member is rotating in response to movement of the shifting member, to thereby vary the torque and revolutions per minute of the transmission system.

An infinitely and continuously variable transmission system comprising:

• a main frame;
• a rotatable input shaft driving a rotating grooved member;
• and
• at least one drive assembly comprising
• a main output gear having at least one toothed surface;
• a T-joint pivotable shaft assembly having a first main shaft rotatably mounted to the main frame in a first axial orientation, said first main shaft being allowed to pivot with respect to the main frame but not being otherwise displaceable;
• a second pivotable and rotatably displaceable shaft having a first end pivotably mounted at a mid section of the first main shaft through a central cross assembly, and a second free end that can be rotatably displaced to cause the second pivotable shaft to oscillate about infinite axes with respect to the main frame;
• first and second one-way clutch assemblies concentrically mounted on each of the first axially-oriented sections of the first shaft, each said clutch assembly being freely rotatable in one direction of rotation of its carrying section of the first shaft and non-rotatable in the opposite direction of rotation of its carrying section of the first shaft and having a toothed gear on its outer perimeter for positively engaging the toothed surface of the output gear, said clutch assemblies being mounted such that they each move the main output gear in the same circular direction as their freely rotatable direction of rotation, wherein one clutch assembly positively engages the main output gear through the first one-hundred eighty degrees of rotation of the rotating grooved member and the other clutch assembly positively engages the main output gear through the other one-hundred eighty degrees of rotation of the rotating grooved member;
• and
• the grooved member being rotatably mounted on the main frame and connected to the free end of the second pivotable shaft through a first groove which passes diametrically through the grooved member surface facing said second pivotable shaft, such free end of the second pivotable shaft being slidably and rotatably mounted in said first groove through a rotatable sliding shoe;
• and
• displacement means connected to a shifting member and the shoe of the second shaft for displacing the second shaft smoothly throughout the length of the first groove while the grooved member is rotating in response to movement of the shifting member, to thereby vary the torque and revolutions per minute of the transmission system.