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Originally posted by ahecht
The gearbox itself is almost identical to a standard planetary gearbox, except that the Sun and the Ring are both driven, one by the electric motor, and one by the gas motor. The Planet Carrier is then connected to the drive shaft. The advantage is that, if needed, both motors, each going at their optimum speed, could power the wheels at the same time.
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If I'm not mistaken, this is how the Thunderchicken's CCT works. There's a whitepaper on this site detailing it.
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Another idea that I came up with over the summer (while playing with mindstorms, of all things), is to use a standard differential, except that one wheel output is replaced by a second motor input. Mechanically, this would function identically to the Prius' system, with all the same advantages. However, building a dual power planetary gearbox or a differential (I'm not sure if they are available cheaply off the shelf) may be just as complex as building a CVT.
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This sounds a lot like what Tytus has been working on. There are several threads devoted to debating the benefits of that design.
There are several ways of combining motors -- many of which compromise the motors involved in some ways. Continuously variable transmissions offer the same or greater benefit as the idea above, but I think they're a bit more complex. So, of course, it's a tradeoff based on what resources are available to you.