Epic New Transmission? No Friction! Is it perfect?

[RandomFact314]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6zE__J0YIU&feature=fvhl

[wyatt]

This is how the Prius' transmission works (at least to the best of my understanding). A large set of planetary gears with two inputs for variable outputs. His is way more complex... Yes there is friction. It's great, but not "perfect".

[Christ]

There has to be friction. Without friction, movement would not be occuring.

Always remember equilibrium. Friction is both a proponent and an opponent to movement.

[Christ]

Notice how he says there are no "friction components"... not zero friction. Good point to pay attention to.

[aerohead]

I watched the video.Thanks! I couldn't get the audio portion,so I'm not sure what the claim is.
A few things that strike me:
---- All spur gears,very noisy
---- low rpm
---- no lubrication
---- The elliptical element would have some interesting dynamic balance issues

[Old Tele man]

..."wasted" energy spinning the opposite gearing...not good efficiency.

[NeilBlanchard]

Straight (non-helical) gears cannot have all that great efficiency. Helical gears are better, but there are still losses. The Borg Warner that is used in the Tesla and in the Aptera is ~98% efficient, which is top notch.

[Christ]

Guys, I think we're over-analyzing the video a bit... keep in mind, that video was just to show how the thing worked... clearly, it was far from even a prototype or testing version. It was like the things at the hospital that show how a person's guts work... obviously, they're not real guts.

[tjts1]

I think thats pretty cool. I hope he gets a prototype into a car for some demonstrations.

[cujet]

That's very similar to a Prius transmission. The only real difference is the use of something other than "motor generator #1" to control the speed of shaft #2 (ring gear speed). Changing the names and configuration a little bit does not make it a new invention. It's Toyota's transmission.