Transmission mechanism

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION, A MULTI-RATION TRANSMISSION HAVING INPUT AND OUTPUT SHAFTS AND A PLURALITY OF TWO-POSITION POSITIVE CLUTCH ELEMENTS SELECTIVELY SHIFTABLE TO DIFFERENT POSITION PATTERNS TO ESTABLISH DIFFERENT DRIVE RATIOS BETWEEN SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT SHAFTS, A MAIN SHAFT ADAPTED TO BE CONTINUOUSLY ROTATED, A SLOWDWON UNIT DRIVINGLY INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID MAIN SHAFT AND SAID INPUT SHAFT, SAID UNIT INCLUDING MEANS FOR NORMALLY ESTABLISHING A DIRECT DRIVE BETWEEN SAID MAIN SHAFT AND SAID INPUT SHAFT, CYCLICALLY OPERABLE MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID MAIN SHAFT AND SAID INPUT SHAFT FOR CAUSING SAID INPUT SHAFT TO DECELERATE AND THEN ACCELERATE WHILE SAID MAIN SHAFT CONTINUES TO ROTATE, SAID CYCLICALLY OPERABLE MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID INPUT SHAFT TO ROTATE A PREDETERMINED, FIXED ANGLE LESS THAN IT WOULD OTHERWISE BE DRIVEN IN RESPONSE TO EACH DECELERATION-ACCELERATION CYCLE, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO AN ACTUATING SIGNAL FOR INTIATING ONE CYCLE OF SAID CYCLICALLY OPERABLE MEANS, MEANS OPERATIVE DURING SUCH CYCLE FOR SHIFTING SAID CLUTCH ELEMENTS TO A DESIRED POSITION PATTERN SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE INSTANT WHEN SAID INPUT SHAFT HAS BEEN DECELERATED TO ITS LOWEST VELOCITY, WHEREBY THE TOTAL ROTATION OF SAID OUTPUT SHAFT IS KNOWN OR DETERMINABLE IN TERMS OF TE TOTAL ELAPSED ROTATION OF SAID MAIN SHAFT, THE NUMBER OF SHIFTING CYCLES WHICH HAVE OCCURRED, AND THE NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS OF SAID MAIN SHAFT WHILE THE TRANSMISSION IS OPERATING AT EACH OF SUCCESSION OF DRIVE RATIOS.