Shiftable multi-speed transmission

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION: A DIFFERENTIAL TORQUE CONVERTER TRANSMISSION HAVING AN INPUT SHAFT, FIRST PLANETARY GEAR TRANSMISSION MEANS HAVING ONE MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID INPUT SHAFT, A HYDRODYNAMIC TORQUE CONVERTER COMPRISING A PUMP WHEEL DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO ANOTHER MEMBER OF SAID FIRST PLANETARY GEAR TRANSMISSION MEANS AND ALSO COMPRISING A TURBINE WHEEL, A SECOND PLANETARY GEAR TRANSMISSION MEANS HAVING A SUN-WHEEL DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SAID TURBINE WHEEL, SAID SECOND PLANETARY GEAR TRANSMISSION MEANS ALSO COMPRISING A PLANETARY GEAR CARRIER CARRYING A PLURALITY OF PLANETARY GEARS MESHING WITH SAID SUN-WHEEL AND BEING DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO A THIRD MEMBER OF SAID FIRST PLANETARY TRANSMISSION MEANS, SAID SECOND PLANETARY GEAR TRANSMISSION MEANS FURTHERMORE COMPRISING A RING GEAR IN MESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PLANETARY GEARS, SAID RING GEAR BEING FREELY ROTATABLE ABOUT ITS AXIS, FRICTIONAL DISC BRAKE MEANS ARRANGED ADJACENT SAID RING GEAR AND BEING OPERABLE SELECTIVELY TO BRAKE SAID RING GEAR FOR HOLDING IT STATIONARY; A SHIFTABLE GEAR TRANSMISSION COMPRISING INPUT SHAFT MEANS, FIXEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID PLANETARY GEAR CARRIER FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, OUTPUT SHAFT MEANS ARRANGED IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID INPUT SHAFT MEANS, AN INPUT GEAR CONNECTED TO SAID INPUT SHAFT MEANS FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, A PLURALITY OF COUNTERSHAFT MEANS SPACED FROM AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT SHAFT MEANS AND CORRESPONDING IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF VELOCITY RANGES OF SAID GEAR TRANSMISSION, SAID COUNTERSHAFT MEANS BEING ARRANGED AROUND THE ALIGNED AXES OF SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT SHAFT MEANS, A PAIR OF COUNTERSHAFT GEARS RESPECTIVELY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID COUNTERSHAFT MEANS, OUTPUT SHAFT GEAR MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID OUTPUT SHAFT MEANS FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, ONE COUNTERSHAFT GEAR OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS BEING DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO AND BEING SMALLER IN DIAMETER THAN SAID INPUT SHAFT GEAR AND THE OTHER GEAR OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS BEING DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SAID OUTPUT SHAFT GEAR MEANS, ONE OF SAID COUNTERSHAFT GEARS OF EACH OF SAID PAIRS BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON ITS RESPECTIVE COUNTERSHAFT, AND A SHIFTABLE, CLUTCH MEANS RESPECTIVELY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID COUNTERSHAFT MEANS FOR CONNECTING ONE OF SAID ROTATABLY MOUNTTED GEARS TO ITS SHAFT, EACH OF SAID CLUTCH MEANS BEING OPERABLE SELECTIVELY TO ESTABLISH AND INTERRUPT DRIVING CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT SHAFT MEANS THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE COUNTERSHAFT MEANS ON WHICH THE RESPECTIVE CLUTCH MEANS IS MOUNTED.