Patent ID: 7743677

Claim:
An automatic transmission for a motor vehicle, comprising, in combination: an input member; a first and a second concentrically disposed intermediate shaft; a first and a second friction clutch alternately selectively engageable for operatively connecting said input member to said respective first and second intermediate shafts; a first and a second countershaft; a first driving input gear coupled for rotation with said first intermediate shaft and meshing with a first pair of driven input gears each connectable for rotation with a respective one of said countershafts for transferring torque to one of said countershafts when said first friction clutch is engaged; a second driving input gear coupled for rotation with said second intermediate shaft and meshing with a second pair of driven input gears each connectable for rotation with a respective one of said countershafts for transferring torque to one of said countershafts when said second friction clutch is engaged; a third driving input gear coupled for common rotation with said first intermediate shaft and meshing with a third set of driven input gears each connectable for common rotation with a respective one of said countershafts for transferring torque to one of said countershafts when said first friction clutch is engaged; a fourth driving input gear coupled for common rotation with said second intermediate shaft and meshing with a fourth set of driven input gears each connectable for common rotation with a respective one of said countershafts for transferring torque to one of said countershafts when said second friction clutch is engaged; a plurality of synchronizers operatively disposed between said driven input gears and said countershafts, and a spacing between an axis of said intermediate shafts and said countershaft associated with lower speed gears is greater than a distance between said axis and said countershaft associated with higher speed gears.