By Mike Boyer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Larry Anderson of Springfield Township with an early mockup of the A+CVT, which he has designed and patented. Photos by GLENN HARTONG/The Cincinnati Enquirer

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP - Larry Anderson started out looking for a way to make it easier to climb hills on his bicycle.

But his efforts stretching back a decade could lead some day to vehicles with more fuel-efficient, smoother-shifting transmissions.

The 70-year-old Procter & Gamble Co. retiree has received a U.S. patent for an innovation he believes can dramatically improve continuously variable transmissions (CVTs).

CVTs have been around for a hundred years or more, mainly for industrial applications. But they are gaining increased attention from automakers and others as a way to improve fuel efficiency.

Ford Motor Co., for example, is producing CVTs at its Batavia plant for the new Ford 500 sedan and the Freestyle crossover vehicle.

HOW IT WORKS

Traditional transmissions use gears, friction plates and hydraulic fluid to transfer power from an engine to a drive shaft. Continuously variable transmissions use a simple belt and pulley system, creating a "continuously variable" gear ratio that is more fuel-efficient. The A+CVT developed by Larry Anderson uses flexible sprocket bars along the pulley shafts to create a more efficient and durable positive drive system rather than the typical friction drive of a belt system.

CVT technology replaces the gears and friction plates in traditional transmissions with a belt and pulley system to transfer the power smoothly from a motor to the wheels.

The pulleys inside a CVT are typically cone-shaped, and the belt that runs between them slides between the narrow and wide ends of each pulley. That creates a "continuously variable" gear ratio to transfer power from the engine to the wheels.

Anderson's idea is a modification of the dual-cone CVT. It uses floating sprocket bars along the length of each cone to engage a chain.

This creates a more durable, positive drive system instead of using simple friction to move a belt up and down the cones. Belt-driven CVTs are friction dependent - and that results in power loss and a less efficient system, he said.

"There's not much more auto companies can do (to improve fuel efficiency) by shaving weight and using plastic in bumpers and fenders," Anderson said. "The transmission is one place where they can go to improve fuel efficiency."

'A lot of inquiries'

Since receiving his patent last year, Anderson has set up a Web site (www.andersoncvt.com) to describe his invention, the A+CVT. He has met with at least half a dozen companies in the automotive, bicycle, power transmission and marine motor business.

"We've had a lot of inquiries, and we're doing a lot of talking,'' he said.

Although not an engineer by training, Anderson, who retired 10 years ago from P&G after working as a research assistant in oleochemicals, says he's always liked tinkering with mechanical things.

"I have no trouble understanding this kind of thing, gear ratios and things like that," he said. "It's kind of second nature to me."

An avid bicyclist, Anderson said he was interested in developing a CVT for his bicycle initially.

"It's gotten harder to climb the hills," he said. "Even with 10-18-21 speed bikes, shifting has always been very clumsy."

'Hey, that works!'

His eureka moment came in his basement workshop, when he saw a cone of yarn.

"I don't know what made my mind start turning, but there was also a light socket chain just laying there. I looked at that and got to thinking - I wonder what I can do with that? It just seemed to fall in place," he said.

He crafted a crude model of the floating sprocket bars using the yarn cone, chain and a coat hanger.

"I ran the light chain up and down on the cone and said, 'Hey, that works!' "

After developing the idea with a bicycle in mind, he said, he realized it could have broader applications.

Over the next few years, Anderson says he spent more than $4,000 at a local machine shop to craft a prototype and filed for a patent about three years ago.

Since receiving his initial patent, he's filed for a couple more for modifications on his design.

His latest prototype includes a heavier-duty chain consisting of steel links connected with steel pins and side links. Anderson said the new chain design should withstand torque for any application.

Looking to license

The U.S. Patent Office, of course, is filled with patents on ideas that never saw the light of day, but Anderson remains hopeful some company will license his idea.

"At least one company has shown a definite interest," he said, although he declined to identify it. "The fact that they've invited me back for a second and third meeting tells me they're interested."

Anderson knows his device could make him wealthy some day.

"Well, I'm not even looking at that part," he said. "Obviously there's a potential there, but that was not the impetus to develop this."

The irony is that Anderson says his idea for a bicycle CVT is on the back burner while he pursues interest from other manufacturers.

But, he said, "that's not necessarily a bad thing."

E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com