Transmission devices

Claim 1

A TRANSMISSION DEVICE COMPRISING TWO HOMOPOLAR MACHINES HAVING A COMMON STATOR STRUCTURE INCLUDING RESPECTIVE STATORS FOR EACH OF SAID MACHINES, AND ROTORS MOUNTED FOR ROTATION RELATIVELY TO EACH OTHER AND FORMING PARTS OF RESPECTIVE MAGNETIC CIRCUITS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID STATORS AND CONVEYING RESPECTIVE MAIN WORKING MAGNETIC FLUXES, EXCITING MEANS FOR VARYING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID MAGNETIC FLUXES, AND AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT, INTERLINKED WITH SAID RESPECTIVE MAGNETIC CIRCUITS, SAID ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID ROTORS AND INCLUDING BRUSH MEANS OPERATIVE BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE RELATIVELY ROTATABLE PORTIONS OF THE MACHINES THROUGH WHICH SAID ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT EXTENDS, SAID STATOR STRUCTURE AND SAID ROTORS INCLUDING PORTIONS LYING WITHIN A TOROIDAL ZONE BOUNDED BY SAID ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT AND ALSO CONVEYING SAID MAIN WORKING FLUXES, SAID PORTIONS BEING FORMED WHOLLY OF SETS OF LAMINATIONS OF RELATIVELY HIGH MAGNETIC RELUCTANCE AND OF RELATIVELY LOW MAGNETIC RELUCTANCE RESPECTIVELY, SAID LAMINATIONS LYING IN PLANES INTERSECTING SAID TOROIDAL ZONE AND DISPOSED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO PATHS ALONG WHICH ELECTRIC CURRENT AND MAGNETIC FLUX EXTEND IN SAID TOROIDAL ZONE, THE LAMINATIONS OF ONE OF SAID SETS BEING DISPOSED IN INTERLEAVED RELATION WITH THE LAMINATIONS OF THE OTHER OF SAID SETS, WHEREBY THE RELATIVELY HIGH RELUCTANCE LAMINATIONS ISOLATE THE RELATIVELY LOW RELUCTANCE LAMINATIONS MAGNETICALLY FROM EACH OTHER IN THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL DIRECTION OF SAID TOROIDAL ZONE, AND PREVENT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONTINUOUS CLOSED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING MAGNETIC CIRCUIT THEREIN, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SETS OF LAMINATIONS BEING FORMED OF A MATERIAL HAVING A LOW ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE, TO ENABLE CURRENT TO BE CONVEYED IN SAID ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WITHOUT EXCESSIVE RESISTIVE LOSS.