New inventors

[snappy]

Engine optimizing D-Drive
Infinitely variable transmission

Did anyone watch this .
In a nutshell this bloke has invented a tranny that does not drop the revs .
So basically you can take your car up to peak torque and just leave it there while it keeps changing gears . He claims it will create 20% better fuel economy but i can think of others reasons it rocks :


Good job Bloke ! Im guessing you are going to be a very rich man

[snappy]

Just found the link
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2865950.htm

[cs123]

Saw it. Looks interesting. A CVT that is implemented using gears, no drive bands etc.

Just wish they explained the technology a bit.

By the look on his face when they asked about interest in the invention I think he is on to a winner.

[last fairlane]

Will he make money?
back in 1973 at the Adelaide motor show I met a man who
had a revolutionary motor it had only a few moving parts
and it ran in a HQ Holden at the time and returned 100 MPG
thats Miles per Gallon
well BHP found out about it and gave him $100000 for the rights for it
and guess what
it never saw the light of day
and the fellows name
Ralph Sarich
whats the betting transmission companies/engine companies and fuel companies
would buy it
and never use it
thanks John

[The Wheel Deal]

I remember Honda were doing something along these lines about 10 years ago. I have no proof actually, it was just something that was discussed over a beer at a BBQ but it has stuck with me ever since...

But think about the exhaust drone.....no revs at all except for on take-off.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by snappy

Engine optimizing D-Drive
Infinitely variable transmission

Did anyone watch this .
In a nutshell this bloke has invented a tranny that does not drop the revs .
So basically you can take your car up to peak torque and just leave it there while it keeps changing gears . He claims it will create 20% better fuel economy but i can think of others reasons it rocks :


Good job Bloke ! Im guessing you are going to be a very rich man

I've already got something that does that.. Hi Stally convertor.. No bloody good for fuel economy though... lol..

[Bundy]

Originally Posted by last fairlane

Will he make money?
back in 1973 at the Adelaide motor show I met a man who
had a revolutionary motor it had only a few moving parts
and it ran in a HQ Holden at the time and returned 100 MPG
thats Miles per Gallon
well BHP found out about it and gave him $100000 for the rights for it
and guess what
it never saw the light of day
and the fellows name
Ralph Sarich
whats the betting transmission companies/engine companies and fuel companies
would buy it
and never use it
thanks John

I heard a similar storey from a bloke that used to work at Chrysler, engine the size of a carton of beer, max HP , same type of economy as you've said and running around in a regal by chrysler at the time.......lost in the system somewhere


anyway good story on the ABC,, available on iVeiw here as the full episode of the inventors program. Watch unmetered on you download if your ISP is Internode.

http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/544425

[Peter B - CV8]

Originally Posted by last fairlane

Will he make money?
back in 1973 at the Adelaide motor show I met a man who
had a revolutionary motor it had only a few moving parts
and it ran in a HQ Holden at the time and returned 100 MPG
thats Miles per Gallon
well BHP found out about it and gave him $100000 for the rights for it
and guess what
it never saw the light of day
and the fellows name
Ralph Sarich
whats the betting transmission companies/engine companies and fuel companies
would buy it
and never use it
thanks John

I love a good conspiracy theory.......
Sarich's engine was fundamentally flawed - in that it was prone to overheating and excessive component wear (leading to long term failure).
However his injection/combustion processes were remarkable and the "Orbital Engine Co" hold over 1000 patents in over 20 countries and has earned in excess of $150m. Licensees include GM, Ford, Mercury & Fiat.
In 1996 the Sarich engine was trialled in a fleet of Australian Government Ford Festivas. In 2000 Aprilia ran a Sarich engine/injection prototype. Mercury Marine also run a Sarich engine/injection system.
So, far from being "never seeing the light of day" the Sarich design is alive & well and Ralph Sarich is quite a wealthy man.

[Bushbasher]

I seem to remember watching a show called Beyond 2000 some 20 odd years ago and seeing a segment on Subaru and their work on a CVT. They showed the concept car going through it's paces from inside and out and went on about it's potential. I guess Subaru didn't get it right or technology wasn't advanced enough cos I never saw or heard of it again. Let's hope this bloke has got it right.


Bushbasher

[snappy]

Apparently there has been alot of people trying to what this fella has and big car companies aswell for the last 40 years but were never able to get it right .

Wheel Deal your right i never thought about the drone thats gonna be one downside of it thats for sure .

But i think the biggest improvement will be in Trucks just imagine the fuel and time they could save . That if they could get it to work in one .

[XC_Lizzard]

Originally Posted by snappy

Apparently there has been alot of people trying to what this fella has and big car companies aswell for the last 40 years but were never able to get it right .
.

Apparently a lot of people have been able to make CVT's of one sort or another work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continu...e_transmission

[Ringo]

Honda have CVT's the late 1990's in the HRV. Kia have them now and the Prius has a CVT as well I thought...

[snappy]

Originally Posted by XC_Lizzard

Apparently a lot of people have been able to make CVT's of one sort or another work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continu...e_transmission

Not one that does not use a clutch . This transmission this bloke invented never dissengages .

[ieatsports_cars]

I saw this on the inventors i wish that man in brisbane all the best good luck i think he is on a winner

[Ohio XB]

Here in the US Ford has sold several vehicles with CVT's. The Freestyle (renamed Taurus X) was one of them, just 3 and 4 years ago. They returned good fuel mileage and Ford was looking to go that way but people just could not accept the lack of revs and shifting. There was even a TV commercial where the guy driving the car had to hum the sounds of the car shifting gears for his wife. I don't believe Ford is selling them anymore.

These vehicles were automatics, no clutch.


Steve

[kypez]

Audi use them under the banner of multitronic. CVT's are doing the rounds in a number of manufacturers.

They are supposed to be more efficient by "using" less power to run but the downside is acceleration suffers for some strange reason that I cant work out given that unlimited ratios should allow for it to accelerate pretty quick.

[GTP-03]

In the mid 80s I saw a documentry about cars that had full ceramic engines and didnt need any oil at all to lubricate them, if my memory serves me correctly it was a porsche engine, I dont know what became of that invention.

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by GTP-03

In the mid 80s I saw a documentry about cars that had full ceramic engines and didnt need any oil at all to lubricate them, if my memory serves me correctly it was a porsche engine, I dont know what became of that invention.

I remember seeing that too. The engines had to be molded perfectly because they didn't have anything that could "machine" the ceramics.


Yeah......the 1980's....


Steve

[phillyc]

Quite simply freaking awesome. If he can get the torque ratings & durability up that transmission will revolutionise motoring. Whether it is internal combustion, hybrid or full electric by adding that gearbox gains will be made.

Terrific work, I hope this becomes a great IP or manufactured item for Australia

[Apollo66]

The CVT has been used in Ag machinery for many years. It's quite a unique trany but as is said, clutches or dog drives etc are needed between the planetries to obtain a large range in of out put speed. Looks like he's taken it one step further and incorporated two planetries into one.
Wouldn't mine the royalties on this one.

[vztrt]

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/10/a...-transmission/

Australian develops new continuously variable transmission

by Sam Abuelsamid (RSS feed) on Apr 10th 2010 at 3:08PM




A variety of continuously variable transmissions types are already on the market, including the well-known variable pulley-and-belt type used by companies like Honda, Suzuki and Subaru. Australian Steve Durnin thinks he has a better idea, however. He's developed a CVT featuring no belts or pulleys, and all the gears are continuously engaged.

A short video on Australian TV doesn't really offer much insight into the workings of the device, but like others it is intended to keep an engine operating at its most efficient speed regardless of vehicle speed. We've looked over the patent application and the typically dense language did little bit to enlighten us. Nonetheless, we'll try to explain what we think might be happening.

The system consists of a pair of ring gears and parallel transmission shafts. Each of the shafts have a modulator mechanism that can rotate the shafts, thereby adjusting the effective input-to-output ratio. As near as we can tell, it uses something similar to a mechanism that makes a differential work to adjust the relative rotational speeds of the two shafts. It's difficult to tell from the sole illustration just how everything moves around. Durnin claims the transmission can provide a 20 percent improvement in efficiency. However, the modulator mechanism will require some energy input to work. Whether that's factored into the savings is presently unknown. Hopefully, we'll see more of this and learn precisely how it works.

[Source: Bayside Bulletin, WIPO, Australian Broadcasting Corp.]

[Elks]

Originally Posted by last fairlane

Will he make money?
back in 1973 at the Adelaide motor show I met a man who
had a revolutionary motor it had only a few moving parts
and it ran in a HQ Holden at the time and returned 100 MPG
thats Miles per Gallon
well BHP found out about it and gave him $100000 for the rights for it
and guess what
it never saw the light of day
and the fellows name
Ralph Sarich
whats the betting transmission companies/engine companies and fuel companies
would buy it
and never use it
thanks John

Yes but regardless of what happened to the Orbital engine, he took the money, invested it wisely and is today one of the richest men in this country worth more than a Billion dollars.

[jpd80]

Nice try but it's basically a straight line adaptation of the Torsen differential,
the 90 degree cross shafts give it away...