Patent ID: 8092337

Claim:
A composite planetary gear apparatus, comprising: a first planetary gear assembly including a first sun gear, a plurality of first pinion gears held in mesh with said first sun gear, and a first outer ring member having inner teeth held in mesh with said first pinion gears; a second planetary gear assembly including a second sun gear arranged in axial alignment with said first sun gear, a plurality of second pinion gears held in mesh with said second sun gear, and a second outer ring member having inner teeth held in mesh with said second pinion gears; and an integral outer ring member including said first outer ring member and said second outer ring member, the integral outer ring member surrounds said first pinion gears and said second pinion gears and is surrounded by an outer space, wherein an inner peripheral surface of said integral outer ring member includes the first outer ring member, the second outer ring member, and an annular groove between the first outer ring member and the second outer ring member, an outer peripheral surface of said integral outer ring member includes counter drive gear teeth, a plurality of through bores radially extend from the annular groove, said first planetary gear assembly and said second planetary gear assembly collectively define a closed space held in communication with said outer space through said through bores, and oil from the first pinion gears and the second pinion gears is urged radially outwardly toward the first outer ring member and second outer ring member, respectively, this oil is collected in the annular groove and is discharged through the through bores to lubricate the counter drive gear teeth.