Transmission with intelligent gear synchronization and shifting

A transmission comprising:

• a) a layshaft coupled to an engine, the speed and torque output of said engine being managed by an engine control unit through commanding said engine's fuel injection and throttle position;
• b) an output shaft, parallel to said layshaft, coupled to a powertrain;
• c) a plurality of pairs of meshed gears, each of said pairs consisting of a layshaft gear mounted fixedly on said layshaft, and an output gear meshed with said layshaft gear, said output gear being mounted rotatably on said output shaft;
• the first of said pairs providing a first gear ratio, the second of said pairs providing a second gear ratio, and so forth as required by the number of speeds provided by said transmission;
• d) a system for shifting from a previously selected output gear to a newly selected output gear, and for synchronizing the speed of said newly selected output gear with the speed of said output shaft, said system further comprising:
• a plurality of latches mounted on said output shaft;
• the first of said latches mounted between said pairs of gears providing said first and said second gear ratios, the second of said latches mounted between said pairs of gears providing said third and said fourth gear ratios, and so forth as required by said number of speeds provided by said transmission;
• every said latch selectively locking either adjacent output gear to said output shaft, or releasing either adjacent output gear from said output shaft;
• every said latch consisting of a plurality of bars sliding along matching axial slots equiangularly cut in a sleeve fixedly mounted on said output shaft, said bars being equiangularly fixed to the inside face of a latch ring as to form a single unit sliding freely over said sleeve, said bars having a wide-angle tooth with a rounded front edge on each end, and said bar ends having slightly oblique sides as to provide torque lock when engaged with—and transmitting torque through—said adjacent output gears;
• in every output gear adjacent to said latches, a plurality of slots, radially distributed along said gear's side facing said latch, said slots receiving and securing said ends of said latch as to lock said output gear to said output shaft;
• said slots having teeth on their outer border, with the same angle and rounded front edge as said teeth on said latch bar ends, such that either face of every said tooth on said bar ends slides over either face of every said tooth on said output gears as to smoothly engage said latch bar ends into said slots of said output gears;
• said slots having slightly oblique sides, by the same angle as said bar ends in said latches, as to provide torque lock when torque is transmitted between said slots and said bar ends;
• electromagnetic actuators to operate said latches, every said latch actuator consisting of one central coil and two side coils, said three coils being placed side by side and fixed to said transmission's housing as to encircle their corresponding latch, said three coils selectively attracting said latch ring of said latch to either engage said latch with either adjacent output gear, or disengage said latch from either adjacent output gear;
• each of said coils being equipped with a suitable latch position sensor to detect the axial position of said latch ring with respect to its sleeve;
• a speed sensor on said transmission's housing to measure the speed of said output shaft;
• and,
• a computerized transmission control unit to command said latch actuators, and to synchronize, in cooperation with said engine control unit, the speed of said output gears with the speed of said output shaft.