Mechanical transmission apparatus

Mechanical transmission apparatus having a pair of first and second shafts mounted in a housing, and a gear train mounted thereon. A first small gear mounted on the first shaft meshes with a second large gear mounted on the second shaft. A third small gear mounted on the second shaft is fixedly connected to the second gear and meshes with a fourth large gear mounted on the first shaft. Each one of the large gears has substantially the same number of teeth and each one of the small gears has substantially the same number of teeth. A source of power is coupled to the gear train, and one of the first and second shafts is coupled drivingly to a load. One of the gears of the gear train is fixed to its one of the first and second shafts, whereby power is transmitted from the source through the gear train to the load. The gear train includes a first set of axially aligned gears arranged in pairs of fixedly connected together gears, and a second set of axially aligned gears arranged in pairs of fixedly connected together gears. Each pair of the first set intermeshes with a corresponding one of the pairs of the second set of axially aligned gears, whereby the second and third gears are one of the pairs of fixedly connected together gears of one of the first and second sets of gears, and the fourth and fifth gears are one of the pairs of fixedly together gears of the other one of the first and second sets of gears.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates in general to mechanical transmission 
apparatus, and more particularly relates to a mechanical gear 
transmission, which drivingly couples a source of mechanical power to a 
load. 
Many different types and kinds of mechanical gear transmissions have been 
known in the prior art. For example, reduction gear transmissions have 
been employed for many different applications. When a number of reduction 
gears are required in such a mechanical gear transmission, a series or 
train of gears mounted on a series of separate shafts enable a torque 
multiplication or speed change, whichever is desired, to result between 
the input gear and the output gear. For example, a large gear may be fixed 
to a smaller gear mounted on the same shaft, and the smaller gear meshes 
with a larger gear rotatably mounted on a second shaft and fixed to 
another smaller gear on the second shaft so that the second smaller gear 
can similarly mesh with a third larger gear on a third shaft, whereby a 
series of pairs of gears each mounted on a separate shaft forms a gear 
train. While such a gear train may be satisfactory for some mechanical 
gear transmissions, it would be highly desirable to have a more compact 
mechanical gear transmission, which is less expensive to manufacture. 
Moreover, such a mechanical gear transmission should be flexible in design 
so that the same gear transmission can be used for several different 
applications. Additionally, such a mechanical gear transmission should be 
designed to incorporate a speed shifting arrangement. Therefore, it is the 
principal object of the present invention to provide a new and improved 
mechanical transmission apparatus, which is relatively less expensive to 
manufacture, and which is compact in size. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a new and 
improved mechanical transmission apparatus, which is adapted to embody 
speed changing arrangements, and which is flexible in design so as to 
enable it to accommodate various different types and kinds of 
applications. 
Briefly, the above and further objects of the present invention are 
realized by providing a mechanical transmission apparatus, which includes 
a gear train including a plurality of gears which include a first small 
gear mounted on a first shaft, and a second large gear mounted on a second 
shaft for meshing with the first gear. A third small gear is mounted on 
the second shaft and fixedly connected to the second large gear. A fourth 
large gear is mounted on the first shaft for meshing with the third gear. 
A fifth small gear is mounted on the first shaft and fixedly connected to 
the fourth gear. Each one of the large gears has substantially the same 
number of teeth and each one of the small gears has substantially the same 
number of teeth. A source of mechanical power is adapted to be coupled to 
the gear train, and a load is adapted to be drivingly coupled to one of 
the first and second shafts. At least one of the gears of the gear train 
is fixed to its one of the first and second shafts whereby power is 
transmitted from the source through the gear train to the load. The gear 
train includes a first set of axially aligned gears arranged in pairs of 
fixedly connected together gears, and a second set of axially aligned 
gears are arranged in pairs of fixedly connected together gears. Each pair 
of the first set intermeshes with a corresponding one of the pairs of the 
second set of axially aligned gears. The second and third gears are one of 
the pairs of fixedly connected together gears of one of the first and 
second sets of gears, and the fourth and fifth gears are one of the pairs 
of fixedly connected together gears of the other one of the first and 
second sets of gears. 
As a result, the mechanical transmission apparatus of the present invention 
can be mounted on two shafts only regardless of the number of stages of 
gears, thereby enabling the overall size of the unit to be substantially 
smaller, less expensive and more compact than a similar conventional gear 
transmission unit. In this regard, by employing only two shafts, there is 
an overall cost savings in reducing the number of shafts needed for the 
transmission, and the overall size of the housing for the unit would be 
smaller and thus less expensive to manufacture. Moreover, the apparatus of 
the present invention may employ a series of identical size gears so that 
the initial tooling cost for the device would be much less expensive than 
the tooling cost required for a conventional mechanical gear transmission 
employing many different sizes of gears. By employing a series of pairs of 
gears mounted on two shafts in accordance with the present invention, a 
highly efficient and flexible unit results in that power may be taken off 
of any one of a number of gears in a convenient manner, and a speed 
changing arrangement may be readily employed as hereinafter described in 
greater detail.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a mechanical transmission apparatus 
10, which is constructed in accordance with the present invention. The 
transmission apparatus 10 includes a housing 12 having an output shaft 14 
journaled for rotation therein, the output shaft 14 being adapted to be 
coupled drivingly to a load (not shown). A second shaft 16 is journaled 
fixedly within the housing 12 and extends in a parallel spaced-apart 
manner relative to the output shaft 14. A large outside input gear 18 or 
other such input device, such as a sprocket, friction wheel or the like, 
is freely mounted on the outer portion of the input shaft 14 on the 
outside of the housing 12, and the gear 18 is fixed to a gear 20 of a gear 
train generally indicated at 21 mounted on the shafts 14 and 16 as 
hereinafter described in greater detail. 
The gear train 21 includes the small gear 20 which is integral with the 
outside input gear 18 and is mounted for free rotation about the output 
shaft 14. A large gear 22 is mounted for free rotation on the shaft 16 and 
meshes with the small gear 20. A small gear or pinion gear 24 is fixed to 
or integral with the large gear 22 and is mounted for free rotation about 
the shaft 16. A large gear 26 is mounted for free rotation about the 
output shaft 14 and meshes with the small pinion gear 24. A small gear or 
pinion gear 28 is fixed to or integral with the large gear 26 and is 
mounted for free rotation on the output shaft 14. A large gear 29 is 
mounted freely on the shaft 16 and engaged meshingly with the pinion gear 
28 and is integrally connected to a small or pinion gear 31 which is also 
mounted freely on the shaft 16. A large gear 33 is mounted freely on the 
output shaft 14 and meshes with the small gear 31. A small or pinion gear 
35 is integral with the gear 33 and is mounted freely on the output shaft 
14 to mesh with a large gear 37 mounted freely on the shaft 16. A small or 
pinion gear 38 is integral with the large gear 37 and meshes with another 
large gear 39 mounted freely on the output shaft 14. A small or pinion 
gear 41 is fixed to or integral with the large gear 39 and freely 
surrounds the output shaft 14 for meshing with a large gear 43 mounted 
freely on the shaft 16. 
A small or pinion gear 45 is integral with the large gear 43 and freely 
surrounds the shaft 16 to mesh with a large gear 47 which surrounds freely 
the output shaft 14. A smaller pinion gear 49 is fixed to or integral with 
the large gear 47 and freely surrounds the output shaft 14 for meshing 
with a large gear 50 which in turn is mounted freely for rotation on the 
shaft 16. A small integral gear 52 is mounted freely on the shaft 16 to 
mesh with a large gear 54 which is fixed by means of a pin 56 to the 
output shaft 14 for driving it. 
Thus, the gear train 21 includes a first set of axially aligned gears 
mounted on the output shaft 14 and arranged in pairs of fixedly connected 
together gears, such as the gears 26 and 28. A second set of axially 
aligned gears are mounted on the shaft 16 and are arranged in pairs of 
fixedly connected together gears, such as the gears 29 and 31. Each pair 
of the first set of gears intermeshes with a corresponding one of the 
pairs of the second set of axially aligned gears. A source of power (not 
shown) is coupled to the first gear (gear 20) of the gear train 21, and a 
load (not shown) is adapted to be coupled to the output shaft 14. Since 
the gear 54 is fixed to the output shaft 14, the gear train 21 produces a 
gear reduction or speed change from the input gear 20 to the output gear 
54, while employing only two shafts--output shaft 14 and the shaft 16. 
Such a transmission apparatus 10 is very compact in size since only two 
shafts are employed. Additionally, each one of the large gears, such as 
the gear 22 and the gear 26, has substantially the same number of teeth, 
and each one of the small gears, such as the gears 24 and 28 has 
substantially the same number of teeth. As a result, the gear pinion pairs 
are all identical to one another so that the apparatus 10 can be 
manufactured in an economical manner. In this regard, the tooling expenses 
would be greatly minimized since each one of the gears of the gear train 
21 is identical. Moreover, only two shafts are employed and a relatively 
small size housing is required. As hereinafter described in greater 
detail, speed changes can be readily and conveniently employed in 
connection with the apparatus of the present invention, and the apparatus 
of the present invention is very flexible since it is readily adaptable 
for many different types and kinds of applications as will become clearly 
understood as hereinafter described in greater detail. 
In use, the source of power (not shown) is coupled to the small gear 20 of 
the gear train 21 by means of the large outside input gear 18 or the like 
input device so as to drive the gears in the gear train 21, each one of 
the gears being freely rotatable about the shafts 14 and 16 except the 
last large gear 54 which is fixed to the output shaft 14 for driving it at 
a greatly reduced speed relative to the input gear 20. 
Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, there is shown a transmission 
apparatus 58, which is constructed in accordance with the present 
invention, and which is similar to the transmission apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 
except that the apparatus 58 is in the form of a transaxial adapted to be 
used on a small vehicle. It should be understood that while the 
transmission apparatus 58 may be employed in connection with small 
vehicles, the apparatus 58 may be employed with other types and kinds of 
vehicles as well. Additionally, it is to be understood by those skilled in 
the art that the mechanical transmission apparatus of the present 
invention may be employed with many different types and kinds of 
applications for its use as will become apparent to those skilled in the 
art. 
The transmission 58 generally comprises a housing 60 in which is mounted a 
transaxial 62 having a left shaft 64 extending from one side thereof and a 
right shaft 65 extending from the opposite side thereof, the left and 
right shafts being joined together by a differential 68. An input shaft 70 
is journaled for rotation within the housing 60 and is connected to a 
variable input friction drive 72 which in turn may be driven by a suitable 
source of power, such as a single cylinder engine. A fixed reduction gear 
train 74 is mounted on the shafts 64 and 70 which extend parallel to one 
another, the gear train 74 including a series of fixed-together large and 
small gears in a similar manner as the gear train 21 of the apparatus 10 
as hereinafter described in greater detail. A brake member 76 is fixed to 
the differential housing and cooperates with another brake member (not 
shown) for braking purposes. 
Considering now the variable input friction drive 72 in greater detail, the 
drive 72 includes a spring loaded friction plate 78 which is driven by the 
engine (not shown), and in turn drives an input drive roller 80 fixed to 
the input shaft 70 which extends axially in a direction at right angles to 
the axis of rotation of the friction plate 78. A forward compression 
spring 82 surrounds the input shaft 70 between the roller 80 and the 
outside of the housing 60 to urge resiliently the shaft 70 to cause it to 
shift axially until the roller 80 is aligned centrally with the plate 78 
in a neutral position as hereinafter described in greater detail. 
Similarly, a reverse compression spring 84 (shown in a relaxed condition), 
surrounds the input shaft 70 within the housing 60 between a pair of stops 
86 and 88 so as to urge resiliently or otherwise bias the input shaft 70 
so as to shift it axially from a reverse drive position to the left of the 
neutral central position of the plate 78 as indicated by the phantom line 
designated as R on the drawings. At the neutral central position, a 
central opening 91 in the plate 78 receives the roller 80 which is biased 
to that position by both the forward spring 82 and the reverse spring 84. 
A handle (not shown) or other such suitable device shifts the shaft 70 
axially to either the left or right of the center neutral position for 
either driving the output in either a forward or a reverse direction. In 
this regard, when the roller 80 is disposed in the central or neutral 
position designated by the letter N, the roller 80 fits within the central 
opening 91 in the plate 78 and thus is not driven by the plate 78. When 
the shaft 70 is shifted rightwardly axially to the position as shown in 
FIG. 2 of the drawings, the shaft 70 rotates in a forward direction and 
the return spring 82 is compressed. When the shaft 70 is released, the 
return spring 82 urges the roller 80 to the central opening 91 for an 
automatic return-to-neutral operation. Similarly, when the shaft 70 is 
shifted leftwardly axially until the roller 80 engages the left portion of 
the plate 78 in the reverse position indicated by the letter R in the 
drawings, the plate 78 drives the roller 80 and thus the shaft 70 in a 
reverse direction. In such a position, the reverse return spring 84 is 
compressed so that when the shaft 70 is released, the spring 84 snaps the 
shaft 70 rightwardly until the roller 80 fits into the central opening 91 
of the plate 78 in the neutral position. 
Considering now the gear train 74 in greater detail, a small gear 93 is 
pinned to the shaft 70 within an axially-extending groove 94 and rotates 
therewith when the drive roller 80 rotates the shaft 70 about its axis, 
whereby the gear 93 is fixed rotationally to the shaft 70 for rotating in 
unison therewith, but the gear 93 is free to slide transversely relative 
to the shaft 70 with the groove 94 to enable the shaft 70 to be shifted 
laterally either rightwardly or leftwardly. A large gear 95 is mounted 
freely for rotation about the left shaft 64 and meshes with the smaller 
gear 93. A small or pinion gear 97 is integral with or fixed to the large 
gear 95 and freely surrounds the shaft 64. A large gear 99 freely 
surrounds the shaft 70 and meshes with the small gear 97. A small or 
pinion gear 101 is integral with the large gear 99 and freely surrounds 
the shaft 70 to mesh with a large gear 103 which in turn is integral with 
a small or pinion gear 105 both freely surrounding the shaft 64. A large 
gear 107 freely surrounding the shaft 70 meshes with the small gear 105 
and is integral with a small or pinion gear 109 meshing with a gear 
housing 110 of the differential 68 joining the two shafts 64 and 65 in 
co-axial alignment. In this regard, a pair of internal bevel gears 112 and 
114 of the differential 68 are pinned to the respective shafts 64 and 65 
to form the transaxial 62. It should be understood that the differential 
68 is a conventional differential as is well known in the art. 
In use, with the variable input friction drive 72 in its neutral position 
with the roller 80 disposed in the central opening 91, the plate 78 is 
driven about its central axis but the shaft 70 remains stationary. In 
order to couple mechanical energy to the load, the shaft 70 is shifted 
rightwardly by means of a handle (not shown) until the roller 80 is 
disposed in the forward F position as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings 
wherein the roller 80 engages the right side of the plate 78 to cause the 
shaft 70 to rotate about its axis. In so doing, the fixed reduction gear 
train 74 transmits power from the input shaft 70 to the gear 93 and from 
there through the gear 95 back to the gear 99 and its small gear 101 to 
the large gear 103 and thus the small gear 105 to the gears 107 and 109 to 
in turn drive the gear housing 110 of the differential 68, whereby the 
shafts 64 and 65 are driven about their axis. Should the handle (not 
shown) for the shaft 70 be released, the return spring 82 shifts the shaft 
70 leftwardly as viewed in FIG. 2 of the drawings until the roller 70 
returns to its neutral position N with the roller 70 being disposed in the 
central opening 91 to prevent power from being transmitted from the input 
friction drive 72 to the shafts 64 and 65. By shifting the shaft 70 
leftwardly to the reverse R position, the shaft 70 rotates in an opposite 
direction and thus the output shafts 64 and 65 rotate in a reverse or 
opposite direction. The return spring 84 then enables the shaft 70 to 
return leftwardly back to the neutral position. 
Referring now to FIG. 3 of the drawings, there is shown a mechanical 
transmission apparatus 118 which is constructed in accordance with the 
present invention and which is similar to the transmission apparatus 58 of 
FIG. 2 with the addition of a gear shifting arrangement. The transmission 
118 generally comprises a housing 120 through which extends a transaxial 
generally indicated at 122 comprising a left shaft 124 and a right shaft 
126 joined together in axial alignment with one another by means of a 
differential 128. A gear shift shaft 130 is mounted for rotation within 
the housing 120 and extends in a parallel spaced-apart direction relative 
to the transaxial 122 similarly mounted for rotation within the housing 
120. 
A large outside input gear 132 or the like input device is freely mounted 
for rotation on the shaft 124 outside of the housing 120, and a small 
inside input gear 134 is also mounted for free rotation about the shaft 
124 within the interior of the housing 120 and is fixedly connected 
integrally to the outside input gear 132 for driving a large gear 136 of a 
forward shifting range gear train 138 which in turn drives a fixed 
reduction gear train 141 which is similar to the gear train 74 of FIG. 2. 
In this regard, both of the gear trains 138 and 141 include a series of 
gears comprising a first set of axially aligned gears arranged in pairs of 
fixedly connected together gears and a second set of axially aligned gears 
arranged in pairs of fixedly connected together gears such that each pair 
of the first set of gears intermeshes with a corresponding one of the 
pairs of the second set of axially aligned gears. The first set of axially 
aligned gears are mounted on the shaft 124 and the second set of gears are 
mounted on the shaft 130. 
Considering now the forward shifting range gear train 138 in greater detail 
with reference to the drawings, a small or pinion gear 143 is integrally 
connected to the large gear 136 and freely surrounds the shaft 130 to 
engage a large gear 145 freely surrounding the shaft 124. A small or 
pinion gear 147 is fixed to in an integral manner the gear 145 and freely 
surrounds the shaft 124 to engage meshingly the large gear 149 mounted 
freely on the shaft 130. A small or pinion gear 151 integral with the 
large gear 149 freely mounted on the shaft 130 engages meshingly a large 
gear 153 freely mounted on the shaft 124 and fixed integrally with a small 
or pinion gear 155 also freely mounted on the shaft 124. A large gear 157 
freely mounted on the shaft 130 meshes with the gear 155 and is integral 
with a small or pinion gear 159 meshing with a large gear 161 mounted 
freely on the shaft 124. A small or pinion gear 163 integral with the 
large gear 161 is freely mounted on the shaft 124 and meshes with a large 
gear 165 which is integral with a small or pinion gear 167 freely mounted 
on the shaft 130 to mesh with a large gear 169 on the shaft 124. 
Similarly, a small or pinion gear 171 integral with the gear 169 freely 
rotates about the shaft 124 and meshes with a large gear 173 freely 
mounted on the shaft 130 and integral with a small or pinion gear 175 
meshing with a large gear 177 freely mounted on the shaft 124. A sprocket 
179 is integrally connected to the large gear 177 and is connected by a 
chain (not shown) or other suitable device to another sprocket 181 or a 
set of three gears including an idler gear (not shown) to form a reverse 
gear arrangement for the transmission apparatus 118. 
In this regard, a pair of slidable keys 183 and 185 are urged resiliently 
radially outwardly by means of a pair of respective springs 187 and 189 
attached at one of their ends to the respective keys 183 and 185 and at 
their other ends to a pair of respective transversly slidable elongated 
keys 190 and 191 within a pair of diametrically opposed keyways 192 and 
194 in the shaft 139. As a result, the keys 183 and 185 are adapted to 
engage selective ones of the gears 136 through 181 mounted on the shaft 
130. A shifter ring 198 attached to the elongated keys rotates with the 
shaft 130 and moves the elongated keys by means (not shown) to the left as 
viewed in FIG. 3 of the drawings until the keys 183 and 185 are disposed 
opposite a selected gear so that the keys 183 and 185 snap into engagement 
with the keyway slots in the selected gear, such as the keyway slot 196 of 
the sprocket 181. In this regard, any one of the gears mounted on the 
shaft 130 from the gear 136 to the sprocket 181 may be fixed to the shaft 
130 by means of the slidable keys 183 and 185 by moving the shifter ring 
198 between the position of the ring 198 shown in solid lines to its 
leftwardmost position shown in phantom lines, the latter position being 
the position in which the keys 183 and 185 snap into engagement with the 
integral gears 136 and 143. 
It should be understood that the shifter ring may be moved in a manual 
operation, or it may be moved mechanically by various different types and 
kinds of devices, such as piston cylinder assemblies or the like. 
Thus, by employing the gear shifter shaft 130 with the slidable keys 183 
and 185, various different speeds for the transmission 118 may be 
selected. In this regard, the apparatus 118 shown in FIG. 3 of the 
drawings is a five forward speed unit as designated in FIG. 3. In this 
regard, there are five pairs of fixedly connected together gears mounted 
on the shaft 130, each one of which providing a separate speed for the 
transmission apparatus 118, the first speed being the gears 134 through 
173 and the last speed being provided by gears 134 and 136. A neutral 
position N is a space between the small first speed gear 175 and the 
reverse speed sprocket 181, whereby the keys 183 and 185 may be disposed 
in such space so that none of the gears to the left of the sprocket 181 is 
fixed to the shaft 130. 
Considering now in greater detail the fixed reduction gear train 141 as 
shown in the drawings, the train 141 includes a small gear 200 fixed to 
the shaft 130 adjacent the sprocket 181 to drive a large gear 202 freely 
mounted for rotation on the shaft 134, whereby when the keys 183 and 185 
are disposed in one of the forward speed positions or in the reverse speed 
position, the shaft 130 driven by the forward shifting range gear train 
138 drives the fixed gear 200 and thus the fixed reduction gear train 141. 
A small gear 204 is integral with the large gear 202 and meshes with a 
large gear 206 mounted freely about the shaft 130. A small or pinion gear 
208 is integral with the large gear 206 and meshes with a large gear 210 
having an integral small or pinion gear 212 which in turn meshes with a 
large gear 214 freely mounted for rotation about the shaft 130. A smaller 
pinion gear 216 is integral with the large gear 214 and meshes with a gear 
housing 218 of the differential 128 so that a pair of internal bevel gears 
221 and 223 drive the respective shafts 124 and 126. A brake member 225 
cooperates with another brake member (not shown) for controlling the 
output of the transmission 118. 
Referring now to FIG. 4 of the drawings, there is shown a mechanical 
transmission apparatus 227, which is constructed in accordance with the 
present invention and which is similar to the transmission apparatus 118 
of FIG. 3 except that an additional shaft is employed and a different type 
of shifting device is employed. The transmission apparatus 227 is in the 
form of a transaxial and generally comprises a housing 229 having a 
transaxial generally indicated at 231 journaled for rotation within the 
housing 229, the transaxial 231 including a left shaft 233 co-axially 
aligned with a right shaft 235 and being joined together by a differential 
237 in a manner similar to the transaxial of the apparatus 118 of FIG. 3. 
An input and gear shift shaft 239 is mounted within the interior of the 
housing 229 and serves as an input to the transmission apparatus 227 as 
well as enabling the transmission apparatus 227 to be shifted through a 
number of speeds as hereinafter described in greater detail. An 
intermediate shaft 240 is disposed between the shaft 239 and the 
transaxial 231 in a spaced-apart parallel manner for supporting together 
with the shaft 239 a fixed reduction gear train 242. A forward shifting 
range gear train 244 is supported by the intermediate shaft 240 and the 
shaft 233 of the transaxial 231 as hereinafter described in greater 
detail. A large fixed gear 246 is pinned to the input shaft 239 and is 
driven thereby to in turn drive a large idler gear 248 freely mounted for 
rotation on the intermediate shaft 240, whereby the idler gear 248 is 
integrally connected to a small or pinion gear 250 which in turn meshes 
with a gear housing 252 of the differential 237. The differential 237 is a 
conventional differential and includes a pair of internal bevel gears 254 
and 256 which are fixed to the respective shafts 233 and 235 for driving 
them independently of one another. A brake member 258 is integral with the 
housing of the differential 237 and is mounted externally of the 
transmission housing 227 to cooperate with another brake member (not 
shown) for braking purposes. 
Considering now the fixed reduction gear train 242 in greater detail with 
reference to FIG. 4 of the drawings, a large outside input gear 251 or the 
like input device is journaled for rotation about a portion of the input 
shaft 239 extending on the outside of the housing 227 and is integrally 
connected to a small inside input gear 253, whereby a source of power (not 
shown) may be connected drivingly to the outside input gear 251 for 
driving the transmission apparatus 227. A large gear 255 is freely mounted 
for rotation on the intermediate shaft 240 and meshes with the small 
inside input gear 253. The fixed reduction gear train 242 includes a first 
set of axially aligned gears arranged in pairs of fixedly connected 
together gears mounted on the input shaft 239, and a second set of axially 
aligned gears arranged in pairs of fixedly connected together gears, 
whereby each pair of the first set of gears intermesh with a corresponding 
one of the pairs of the second set of axially aligned gears in a manner 
similar to the fixed reduction gear train 141 of the transmission 
apparatus 118 of FIG. 3 of the drawings. A small last gear 257 of the 
fixed reduction gear train 242 is freely mounted for rotation about the 
intermediate shaft 240 to mesh with a large gear 259 mounted freely on the 
shaft 233 of the transaxial 231, the gear 259 being the third speed gear 
of the forward shifting range gear train 244. The forward shifting range 
gear train 244 is similar to the shifting range gear train 138 of the 
apparatus 118 of FIG. 3 in that the gear train 244 comprises two sets of 
pairs of fixedly connected together gears mounted on the pair of parallel 
spaced-apart shafts 240 and 233. 
Considering now in greater detail the forward shifting range gear train 
244, the gear train 244 includes the large gear 259 which has integrally 
connected thereto a small or pinion gear 261 which is freely mounted for 
rotation about the shaft 233 and which meshes with a large gear 263 
mounted for free rotation about the shaft 240. A shiftable gear 265 is 
mounted on the input shaft 239 and is transversely shiftable along an 
elongated keyway 266 to selectively engage certain ones of the gears of 
the gear train 244 so as to select different speeds for the transmission 
apparatus 227. A gear shift device (not shown) is fixed to the shiftable 
gear 265 and extends through an opening 267 to shift the gear 265 along 
the shaft 239. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings, when the 
shiftable gear 265 is disposed in the leftwardmost position it meshes with 
the gear 263 and thus operates in the third speed for the transmission 
apparatus 227 for conveying power to the fixed gear 246 and thence to the 
shaft 233 and 235. 
An integral small or pinion gear 269 surrounding the intermediate shaft 240 
fixed to the gear 263 meshes with a large gear 271 freely mounted about 
the left shaft 233. A small or pinion gear 273 is fixed to or integral 
with the large gear 271 and meshes with a large gear 275 mounted freely 
about the intermediate shaft 240 to form the second speed for the 
transmission 227. A small or pinion gear 277 is integral with the gear 275 
and meshes with a large gear 279 mounted freely about the shaft 233. A 
small or pinion gear 282 is fixed to the large gear 279 and meshes with a 
large gear 284 mounted for free rotation about the intermediate shaft 240 
to form the first speed for the transmission apparatus 227 when the gear 
265 meshes with the gear 284. A small or pinion gear 286 is integral with 
the gear 284 and is mounted for free rotation about the intermediate shaft 
240 to mesh with a large gear 288 which is mounted for free rotation about 
the shaft 233, and which is fixedly connected to a sprocket 290 which is 
connected drivingly by means of a belt or chain (not shown) to a second 
sprocket 292 mounted for free rotation about the shaft 240 and fixed to a 
large reverse gear 294. In this regard, when the shiftable gear 265 is 
disposed in the position indicated by the reference character R, the gear 
265 meshingly engages the reverse gear 294 for driving the shafts 233 and 
235 in a reverse direction in a manner similar to the reverse speed for 
the transmission apparatus 228 of FIG. 3. Also, in a similar manner to the 
transmission apparatus 118 of FIG. 3, there is a neutral position N 
disposed between the sprocket 292 and the small gear 286 to receive the 
shiftable gear 265 to serve as a neutral position, whereby the power 
coupled to the shaft 239 is not transmitted to the shaft 233 and 235. The 
shiftable gear 265 is attached to the shaft 239 in such a manner that 
there are a few degrees of freedom in the radial direction to simplify 
shifting interference while shifting from 3 to R through 2 and N. 
Referring now to FIG. 5 of the drawings, there is shown a transmission 
apparatus 296, which is constructed in accordance with the present 
invention and which is similar to the transmission apparatus 227 of FIG. 4 
except that the apparatus 296 has an auxiliary power takeoff shaft and is 
a nine speed transmission for both the main output shaft and the auxiliary 
power takeoff shaft. The transmission apparatus 296 generally comprises a 
housing 298 having an input and gear shift shaft 300 journaled for 
rotation therein in a similar manner as the shaft 239 is employed in the 
transmission apparatus 227 of FIG. 4. A main output shaft 302 is also 
journaled for rotation within the housing 298 and extends in a parallel 
spaced-apart manner relative to the input shaft 300. An intermediate shaft 
304 is fixedly mounted within the interior of the housing 298 between the 
shafts 300 and 302 in a parallel spaced-apart manner. An auxiliary power 
takeoff shaft 306 is journaled for rotation within the housing 298 spaced 
from and parallel to the main output shaft 302. A forward shifting range 
gear train 308 is similar to the shifting range gear train 244 of the 
transmission apparatus 227 for enabling the main output shaft 302 and the 
auxiliary power takeoff shaft 306 to operate at different selected speeds 
relative to the speed of the input shaft 300. In this regard, the input 
shaft 300 is adapted to be connected to a source of power (not shown), and 
the main output shaft 302 and the auxiliary power takeoff shaft 306 are 
adapted to be coupled to separate loads (not shown), whereby the power 
source can drive both of the loads at different speeds and employing gear 
reductions by employing the transmission apparatus 296 of the present 
invention. 
A small gear 311 is pinned to the input shaft 300 and meshes with a large 
idler gear 313 freely mounted for rotation about the shaft 304, whereby an 
integral small pinion gear 315 fixed to the large gear 313 meshes with a 
large output gear 317 fixed to the main output shaft 302. A brake member 
319 is integrally fixed to the gear 317 surrounding the shaft 302 
externally of the housing 298 to cooperate with another brake member (not 
shown) for braking purposes. 
Considering now the gear train 308 in greater detail with reference to the 
drawings, a large outside input gear 321 is disposed externally of the 
housing 298 surrounding the input shaft 300, the input gear 321 being 
mounted freely for rotation about the input shaft 300 and being integral 
with a small inside gear 323 freely surrounding the input shaft 300 within 
the interior of the housing 298. A large gear 325 mounted for free 
rotation about the intermediate shaft 304 meshes with the gear 323, and is 
integral with a small or pinion gear 327 which in turn meshes with a large 
gear 328 mounted freely about the main output shaft 302. The gear train 
308 includes gears 328 through the last large gear 360 and are arranged in 
two sets of gears, the first set of gears being pairs of fixedly connected 
together gears mounted on the intermediate shaft 304 and the second set 
being mounted on the main output shaft 302 in a manner similar to the gear 
train 244 of the transmission apparatus 227 of FIG. 4. A sprocket 361 is 
fixed to the gear 360 and drives by means of a belt or chain (not shown) a 
second or reverse sprocket 362 which is fixed to a reverse gear 363 in a 
similar manner as the reverse gear 292 of the transmission apparatus 227. 
A shiftable gear 364 mounted with a keyway slot or spline 365 on the input 
shaft 300 is similar to the shiftable gear 265 of the transmission 
apparatus 227 and cooperates with the large gears mounted on the 
intermediate shaft 304 to provide eight forward speeds and one reverse 
speed for the main output shaft 302, a neutral position N being a space 
for receiving the gear 364 between the small gear 359 and the sprocket 362 
both mounted on the shaft 304 in a manner similar to the neutral position 
of the transmission 227 of FIG. 4. 
A shiftable gear 368 is slidably mounted on the auxillary power takeoff 
shaft 306 by means of an elongated keyway slot 369 to mesh with the large 
gears of the gear train 308 mounted on the main output shaft 302 to 
provide nine forward speeds for the auxiliary power takeoff shaft 306. In 
the position illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings, the gear 368 is shown 
meshing with a large gear 344 mounted for free rotation about the shaft 
302. In that position, the auxiliary power takeoff shaft 306 is driven in 
a fifth speed relative to the speed of the input shaft 300. It should be 
understood by those skilled in the art that both of the shiftable gears 
364 and 368 may be shifted in any convenient manner such as the manner 
suggested for the shiftable gear 265 of the transmission apparatus 227 of 
FIG. 4. 
It will become apparent to those skilled in the art that many different 
modifications may be made in the embodiments of the invention disclosed 
herein, and therefore it is intended to be limited by only the true spirit 
and scope of the appended claims. In this regard, many different 
applications for the transmission apparatus of the present invention will 
become apparent to those skilled in the art.