Recent content by MichaelWReed

I'm intrigued by the VMT Universal Transmission, but they seem to be not wanting to share the details on how it works, other than that there's moon gear that's expanded and contracted, somehow.. do you know how it works?

@Baluncore - Thank you for saying that ego booster, but what I'm taking from this is that I really need more pictures, 3D models, animations of the mechanics, etc in order to communicate the concept, and I agree. I'm trying to follow your rear wheel diameter change (based on torque applied to...

Drive Train - So... I just realized a major issue with the drive chain. In order to allow for expansion/contraction, the chain needs to have one-way friction along the contact points; to allow the contact points to move back along the belt. BUT, I wasn't thinking about how the rear gear contacts...

Here is my updated write-up: Expandable Gear CVT Abstract: Single front and rear gears that both expand and contract (using looped scissor-like radial expansion segments, Hoberman), inversely correlated (as one expands the other contracts), duplicating the effect of popular cone shaped...

Ok, so I was chatting with a friend about my "solely mechanical automatic transmission" claim, and I realized that that might not be the best wording. What I am meaning to claim is this would be the first non-electrical, non-hydraulic automatic transmission; in that the shifting is being solely...

@berkeman - unfortunately I haven't yet made any prototypes, having some rapid-prototypes from a 3D CAD model would be very helpful, and I have Autocad software, I just haven't had the time to sit down and make the models. @louie13 - thank you, I'm thinking the whole setup would probably work...

Hi there, I started working on an idea for an expandable gear CVT about 3 years ago, while out of work for a few months. I had some exciting progress on an idea that I think might be worth pursuing more, but I now have 2 kids, 2 jobs, and no time. I have brought up the project idea with a few...

Cliff - Yes, I thought about it some more and it seems that you're right. Oh well, it was a fun thought experiment.

OK, I just realized that what I said didn't make any sense, concerning the inside rotation... this is tricky. Perhaps there could be an additional cylinder surrounding the axels, that could be turned in the opposite direction of the axel somehow, no no no... yeah, this torque/girbiling issue...

Responses: Dave - no, I'm currently stealing an internet connection from a cafe across the street. Cliff - On visibilty; the transparent sphere is on the inside of another wire frame type sphere which is thin from the drivers perspective, thick from the side, if you can picture, this sphere...

A few of the sketches OK, well, I don't currently have web space to link to the sketches, but here are three of them (the limit on this site). They are very rough, drawn in Paint Shop.

Spherical Vehicle Design by Michael W. Reed I have been thinking this idea over for a few months now, and I thought that it was time to ask for help. My inspiration for this idea came from trying to think of the most all-terrain vehicle possible. Once I realized a sphere would...