Orthodox epicyclic change-speed gearboxes are not optimized to produce the maximum number of ratios from a given number of clutches and gear-sets. A class of triple epicyclic mechanism has been derived which meets this goal, and 2692 structural variants have been elucidated, grouped in 28 families. The topology of epicyclic systems has been studied to ensure that these variants may be constructed, and a systematic procedure has been set out to determine which of them will suit any particular purpose. Two examples are given.
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