Patent ID: 6872161

Claim:
A modular gear system for transmitting power from a motor having a rotary output shaft to a device which requires power and has a rotary drive shaft, the system comprising: a gearbox adapted to be mounted generally adjacent said motor and said device, said gearbox defining a cavity; a first gearset assembly receivable in said cavity and operatively connectable between the motor output shaft and the drive shaft of the device for transmitting power from the output shaft to the drive shaft and producing a first rotational speed adjustment between the shafts such that the drive shaft rotates at a different rotational speed than the motor output shaft; and a second gearset assembly receivable in said cavity and operatively connectable in series with the first gearset for transmitting power and producing a second rotational speed adjustment; wherein the system may be configured in either 1) a single-stage mode wherein the first gearset assembly and not the second gearset assembly is received in the cavity to produce the first rotational speed adjustment, or 2) a multi-stage mode wherein both the first and second gearset assemblies are received in the cavity and are operatively connected in series between the motor output shaft and the drive shaft of the device to produce a rotational speed adjustment which combines the first and second adjustments.