| K.U.Varunny, Thrissur |
If the ultimate test of an invention is a patent from the land of innovations that the US is claimed to be, then K.U.Varunny of Thrissur has done it. The 76-year-old mechanical engineer has become the first Indian to get an automobile power transmission system patented in the car land of US.
His Infinitely Variable Gear Transmission System (IVGT) chooses a gear ratio that exactly suits the load, thereby saving much fuel and reducing emission. While conventional gear systems have to make do with few gear ratios, his system can choose from an infinite choice of gear ratios, thus balancing the load and the effort needed to overcome it. “This is especially important in the case of vehicles such as earth movers which deal with heavy loads,” he says.
He illustrates the concept of IVGT with a simple example. In order to lift a load, a human being will exert only the minimum force required. But in the existing automobile drives, there are only a few gear ratios. This leads to wastage of energy.
The most important factor in the system is a special gear module provided at the incoming side. This automatically balances the speed of the sun gear and planet carrier in relation to input speed. The system does not need a clutch and the vehicle can be brought back to neutral automatically. Further, the vehicle can be reversed by the simple press of a key.
Another invention of Varunny, a former General Manager (R&D) of a firm from Vadodara, is the anti-glare system for night driving that can be adjusted to the vision parameters of the driver.
In fact, his name finds mention in the Limca Book of Records, 2008 for receiving the highest number of awards and patents among senior citizens.
Courtesy:
Mini Muringatheri (text), K.C.Sowmish (photo), The Hindu, May 25, 2011
Contributed by: Administrator
