Hydrostatic reaction transmission

Claim 1

A reaction differential comprising a housing; means defining an input shaft journaled in said housing; means defining an output shaft journaled within said housing; differential means within said housing including a planetary gear train having an input portion operatively connected to said input shaft and an output portion operatively connected to said output shaft, said differential means including a rotor movable around an input sun gear and an output sun gear; torque reaction means within said housing including a plurality of stationary coupling blades secured to said housing and a plurality of rotatable coupling blades secured to said rotor closely adjacent said stationary blades and operatively connected to said output portion of said planetary gear train; input power means for driving said input shaft; means for directing hydraulic fluid into said torque reaction means for engagement with said coupling blades; said rotatable coupling blades rotating relative to said stationary blades for preventing rotation of said output portion in a predetermined direction until the rate of rotation of the input shaft reaches a desired velocity, and thereafter said fluid in said torque reaction means applying a sufficient reaction torque against said rotatable coupling blades for progressively minimizing differential action and to progressively increase the speed of said output shaft.