阅读说明：本技术 用于无级变速器的传动带的横向部段以及随其提供的传动带和无级变速器 (Transverse section for a drive belt for a continuously variable transmission, and drive belt and continuously variable transmission provided therewith ) 是由 高桥祐二 G·拉默斯 丰原耕平 M·基尔斯迈克斯 百井享 木村健 于 2018-05-17 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于传动带(50)的横向部段(101；102；103；104),所述传动带具有环堆组(8)和多个横向部段(101；102；103；104),该横向部段(101；102；103；104)包括基部(10)和两个分别从基部(10)的相应轴向侧在径向向外的方向上延伸的柱部(11),在柱部之间限定了横向部段(101；102；103；104)的中心开口(5),并且每个柱部均设置有在中心开口(5)的一部分上方在相应相对的柱部(11)的大体方向上延伸的钩部(21)。根据本发明,横向部段(101；102；103；104)的柱部(11)中的一个的宽度尺寸(W1)小于相应的另一个柱部(11)的宽度尺寸(W2)。(The invention relates to a transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) for a drive belt (50) having a ring stack (8) and a plurality of transverse sections (101; 102; 103; 104), which transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) comprises a base part (10) and two pillar parts (11) each extending in a radially outward direction from a respective axial side of the base part (10), between which a central opening (5) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) is defined, and each pillar part is provided with a hook part (21) extending over a part of the central opening (5) in the general direction of the respective opposite pillar part (11). According to the invention, the width dimension (W1) of one of the pillar parts (11) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) is smaller than the width dimension (W2) of the respective other pillar part (11).)

1. A transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) for a drive belt (50), the drive belt (50) comprising a ring stack (8) and a plurality of transverse sections (101; 102; 103; 104) arranged in rows in the circumferential direction of such ring stack (8), which transverse sections (101; 102; 103; 104) comprise a base portion (10) and two pillar portions (11) extending in a radially outward direction from respective axial sides of the base portion (10), respectively, a central opening (5) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) being defined between the pillar portions (11), and each pillar portion (11) being provided with a hook portion (21) extending over a part of the central opening (5) in the general direction of the respective opposite pillar portion (11), characterized in that one of the pillar portions (11) of the transverse sections (101; 102; 103; 104) has a width dimension (W1) which is smaller than the other pillar portion, Namely, the width dimension (W2) of the axially opposed column parts (11).

2. The transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 1, wherein the central opening (5) is delimited in the radially inward direction by an at least substantially axially extending support surface (13) facing radially outward of the base part (10), and wherein the width dimension (W1, W2) of the pillar part (11) is defined in the axial direction at any radial height level between the support surface (13) and a radially inward surface, i.e. the bottom surface (14), of the hook part (21), preferably at the radial height level of the support surface (13), i.e. axially flush with the support surface (13).

3. The transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the width dimension (W1) of the one pillar portion (11) is 0.5 to 0.8 times, preferably 0.6 to 0.7 times, the width dimension (W2) of the other pillar portion (11).

4. The transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the one pillar part (11) has a notch (20) in the axial direction with respect to the other pillar part (11), the notch (20) merging with the central opening (5).

5. The transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 4, wherein the post (11) is shaped mirror-symmetrically with respect to an Axial Middle (AM) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104), in particular of a base portion (10) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104), except for a notch (20) provided in the one post (11).

6. Transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein at least a majority of the axial boundary surfaces (22) of the indentations (20) are oriented substantially parallel to the respective axial side of the base (10).

7. Transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein at least a majority of the axial boundary surface (22) of the indentation (20) is oriented substantially perpendicular to a virtual straight line (L) drawn by:

-a first point (P1) on the outer contour of the hook portion (21) of the other post portion (11) without the notch (20), the first point (P1) defining the axial extension of the entrance of the central opening (5) towards the other post portion (11); and

-a second point (P2) defined by the radially innermost side of the axial boundary surface (22) of the notch (20).

8. Transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 4, 5, 6 or 7, wherein a radially inner surface of the indentation (20), i.e. at least a major part of the bottom surface (24), is oriented in a radially inward direction towards the respective axial side of the base (10).

9. Transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the bottom surface (24) of the indentation (20) substantially coincides with or is located radially inside a virtual straight line (L) drawn by:

-a first point (P1) on the outer contour of the hook portion (21) of the other post portion (11) without the notch (20), the first point (P1) defining the axial extension of the entrance of the central opening (5) towards the other post portion (11); and

-a second point (P2) defined by the radially innermost side of the axial boundary surface (22) of the notch (20).

10. Transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein at least a major part of the bottom surface (24) of the indentation (20) is concavely curved.

11. The transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein at least a portion of the radially outer surface, i.e. the top surface (23), of the hook portion (21) of the further post portion (11) without the notch (20) is oriented substantially parallel to a virtual line (L) drawn through the following points or at a shallower angle relative to the axial direction than a virtual straight line (L) drawn through the following points:

-a first point (P1) on the outer contour of the hook portion (21) of the other post portion (11) without the notch (20), the first point (P1) defining the axial extension of the entrance of the central opening (5) towards the other post portion (11); and

-a second point (P2) defined by the radially innermost side of the axial boundary surface (22) of the notch (20).

12. Drive belt (50) for a continuously variable transmission (51), comprising a ring stack (8) of a plurality of mutually nested rings and a plurality of transverse segments (101; 102; 103; 104) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which transverse segments (101; 102; 103; 104) are arranged in a row along the circumference of the ring stack (8) in its central opening (5), characterized in that the drive belt (50) comprises two types (I, II) of transverse segments (101; 102; 103; 104), which differ in that, viewed in the circumferential direction of the drive belt (50), the one pillar part (11) has a smaller width with respect to the other pillar part (11) which is arranged on the opposite axial side of the base part (10) of the respective transverse segment (101; 102; 103; 104).

13. Drive belt (50) according to claim 12, wherein the transverse sections (101; 102; 103; 104) of the two types (I, II) are alternately comprised in rows of transverse sections (101; 102; 103; 104).

14. Drive belt (50) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the hook (21) of the post (11) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) defines the entrance of the central opening (5) of the respective transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) axially symmetrically with respect to the Axial Middle (AM) of the base portion (10) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104).

15. Drive belt (50) according to claim 12, 13 or 14, wherein the hook portion (21) of the further post portion (11) of the transverse section (101; 102; 103; 104) extends above the central opening (5) for about 10-20%, more preferably about 12.5-17.5% or about 15% of the axial width of the central opening (5) without the notch (20).

16. Continuously variable transmission (51) with two pulleys (52, 53) and a drive belt (50) according to any of claims 12 to 15.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a transverse segment intended to be part of a drive belt for a continuously variable transmission having two pulleys and a drive belt. Such a drive belt is well known and is primarily applied to travel around two transmission pulleys between the pulleys, which pulleys each define a V-shaped groove of variable width in which a respective circumferential portion of the drive belt is retained.

Background

The known type of drive belt comprises a substantially consecutive row of transverse segments mounted on a plurality of endless belts or rings around their circumference, said endless belts or rings being stacked on each other in a radial direction. Each such transverse segment defines a central opening which is open towards the radially outer side of the drive belt and which accommodates and constrains a respective circumferential segment of such a ring stack, while allowing the transverse segment to move along its circumference. This particular type of drive belt is known, for example, from british patent GB1286777(a) and a recent example of this is provided in WO2015/177372(a 1).

In the above and in the following description, the axial, radial and circumferential directions are defined with respect to a drive belt placed in a circular attitude. The thickness dimension of the transverse section is defined in the circumferential direction of the push belt, the height dimension of the transverse section is defined in said radial direction, and the width dimension of the transverse section is defined in said axial direction. The thickness dimension of the ring stack is defined in said radial direction and the width dimension of the ring stack is defined in said axial direction.

The known transverse section comprises a base portion and two pillar portions extending in a radially outward direction, i.e. in a height direction, from the base portion on either side of the base portion, i.e. on the left and right axial sides of the base portion. The central opening that receives the ring stack is defined between the base portion and the two post portions. Between the column parts, the opening is delimited by a radially outwardly facing support surface of the base part, which support surface interacts with and supports the ring stack from its radially inner side. At least one, but usually both, of the pillar parts of the known drive belt are provided with a hook part which extends in the axial direction over the central opening and is thus also partly closed in the radially outward direction. Thus, the bottom, i.e. the radially inner surface of such a hook engages the ring stack from the radially outer side of the ring stack, whereby the ring stack is received in the central opening of the transverse section in a radially outward direction.

To assemble the drive belt, i.e. to mount the transverse segments on the ring stack, each transverse segment is first placed in a relatively rotated position to an axial side of the ring stack. And then moved axially toward the ring stack, whereby the axial side of the ring stack slides between the hook portion of one of the post portions and the support surface to allow the opposite axial side of the ring stack to pass by the hook portion of the opposite post portion. Thereafter, the transverse section is rotated back into axial alignment with the ring stack and finally slightly moved back, i.e. in the opposite axial direction, so that it is centered with respect to the ring stack. In this final, axially centered position of the transverse section, its hook or hooks appear to overlap, i.e. overhang, the ring stack in the axial direction. By this overlap it is prevented that the transverse segments can be separated from the ring stack in a radially inward direction during operation of the drive belt. In the latter respect, it should be noted that the overlap is preferably applied on both axial sides of the ring stack by providing hooks on both post portions, as shown in GB 1286777. However, this overlap is preferably greater than that shown in GB1286777, particularly with respect to the width of the ring stack.

By distributing the contact force over a larger surface area, a relatively larger overlap may also be beneficial to reduce contact stresses between the ring stack and the hook portions during operation of the drive belt. However, with such an increase in overlap, the axial relative play or clearance between the transverse segments and the ring stack must generally also increase in order to allow the transverse segments to be mounted on the ring stack without having to deform, i.e. bend. Furthermore, such a large axial play disadvantageously increases the size of the drive belt, and thus also the size of the transmission, at least with respect to a given power transmission capacity. Furthermore, such a large axial play allows the ring stack to be displaced from its preferred axially central position in the central opening of the transverse section during operation of the drive belt, possibly to such an extent that the respective hook no longer overlaps the ring stack on its axial side. Thus, the transverse section can still be separated from the ring stack by its rotation in the radially inward direction, which would impair the operation of the drive belt as a whole.

In the foregoing background, the present disclosure sets forth improvements in known drive belts. In particular, the present disclosure is directed to improving the robustness of the drive belt, preferably without compromising the conventionally high performance of the drive belt in terms of the power transmitting capability of the transmission during operation.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present disclosure, the above object is achieved by providing the drive belt with two types of transverse segments, each having an asymmetric design that is axially mirrored between the two types. In particular, one of the two columns of the transverse section is provided with a notch, i.e. a recess, merging with the central opening in the axial direction. In other words, a notch or recess is formed in the one column portion and opens to the central opening. Thereby, effectively, the width of the one pillar portion is locally reduced with respect to the width of the opposite pillar portion, at least at a radial height level of the support surface. Furthermore, in a first of the two types of transverse sections, a notch is provided in, for example, the left pillar portion, and in a second of the two types of transverse sections, a notch is provided in the right pillar portion. By the presence of the notch, the transverse section can be mounted on the ring stack by inserting the ring stack into the notch below the hook. Thus, the left-hand pillar portion of the first type of transverse section, which is placed on the left axial side of the ring stack and moved to the right relative to the ring stack to mount these transverse sections, is provided with a notch. The right-hand pillar portion of the second type of transverse section, which is placed on the right axial side of the ring stack and is moved to the left relative to the ring stack to mount these transverse sections, is provided with a notch. In the drive belt thus assembled, the ring stack is firmly accommodated in the central opening of the transverse section, the axial play is advantageously small and the overlap between the ring stack and the hook is advantageously large.

To facilitate insertion of the ring stack into the notches of the transverse segments during assembly of the drive belt, the bottom inner surfaces of the hook portions of the notched post portions may be oriented radially outward away from the respective post portion toward the centrally-open entrance. Preferably, such a bottom surface is at least partially oriented substantially parallel to an imaginary, i.e. virtual, straight line drawn through:

-a point on the outer contour of the hook portion of the post portion without a notch, which point defines the axial extension of the inlet of the central opening towards the post portion; and

-another point defined by an axial side edge of the support surface on the notch side.

Additionally or alternatively and with the same effect, the hook portion of a post provided with a notch may extend to a lesser extent towards the axial middle of the transverse section than the hook portion of the opposite post.

In the novel drive belt according to the present disclosure, the ring stack is received in the axial direction between the respective pillar portions of the two types of transverse segments, which are not provided with notches. Preferably, i.e. in order to distribute the forces exerted on, in particular, the ring stack as evenly as possible during operation of the novel drive belt, the two transverse segment types are arranged alternately with one another in the rows of the transverse segments of the drive belt. Thus, two successive transverse segments of the same type will only appear once in the drive belt if the drive belt comprises an odd number of transverse segments in total.

It is noted that the radial play between the hooks of the transverse segments and the ring stack is also an important aspect of the drive belt design. In particular, such radial play is preferably kept small compared to the thickness of the ring stack to ensure the desired, i.e. optimal, performance of the drive belt. However, when such radial play is small, the width of the ring stack which can still be fitted in the central opening of the transverse section can only be slightly greater than the axial extent, i.e. the entrance width of the central opening defined by the hooks in the axial direction and between the hooks, at least without bending upon fitting, so that the overlap is also small. According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, by orienting the indentation not only in the axial direction but also in the radially inward direction in the column of the transverse section, the width of the ring stack and thus the overlap can be advantageously increased, in particular without increasing the radial play. In the latter embodiment of the transverse section according to the present disclosure, the radially inner surface (forming an extension of the support surface), i.e. the bottom surface, of the indentation is at least partially oriented away from the support surface in a radially inward direction. By providing such an extension surface at a radially inward angle with respect to the support surface, the insertion angle of the ring stack into the central opening may be increased with respect to the insertion angle allowed by an axially oriented indentation of the bottom surface extending substantially in alignment with the support surface. Furthermore, this increased insertion angle allows thicker ring stacks to be assembled while achieving the same amount of overlap between the ring stack and hook as before. For geometrical considerations, the extended surface is preferably substantially coincident with or radially inward of a virtual straight line drawn through:

-a point on the outer contour of the hook portion of the post portion without a notch, which point defines the axial extension of the inlet of the central opening towards the post portion; and

-another point defined by an axial side edge of the support surface on the side of the extension surface of the indentation.

Preferably, a convexly curved transition surface is provided between the extension surface and the support surface, i.e. the axial side edges thereof, in order to avoid sharp edges therebetween, which otherwise would lead to disadvantageously high contact stresses between the ring stack and the transverse segments during operation of the drive belt. In this regard, it is noted that the support surfaces have typically been convexly curved to promote preferred central alignment of the ring stack relative to the transverse section, such as described in U.S. patent No. 4,080,841. However, in accordance with the present disclosure, the radius of curvature of the support surface abutting the transition surface is much larger than the radius of curvature of the transition surface itself, and is thus clearly distinguished therefrom. In particular, the (local) radius of curvature of the support surface is at least 1 order of magnitude larger than the radius of curvature of the transition surface.

Drawings

This and other embodiments of the novel power transmission belt according to the present disclosure will now be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a simplified schematic side view of a transmission having two pulleys and a drive belt having a ring stack and a row of transverse segments mounted along the circumference of the ring stack.

Figure 2 provides a first example of a known drive belt in a cross-sectional view facing in its circumferential direction and also comprises a separate side view of only its transverse section.

Figure 3 provides a second example of the known drive belt in a cross-sectional view facing in the circumferential direction thereof;

fig. 4 provides, in a schematic front view, a first embodiment of the novel transverse section according to the present disclosure, with two variants (i.e., two "types");

figure 5 schematically shows the drive belt assembled with two types of transverse segments shown in figure 4 and also includes a diagrammatic indication of the assembly process thereof;

fig. 6 provides, in a schematic front view thereof, a second embodiment of the novel transverse section according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 provides, in its schematic front view, a third embodiment of the novel transverse segment according to the present disclosure, and also includes a diagrammatic indication of its assembly process and a schematic cross-sectional view of a drive belt assembled from two types of transverse segments according to this third embodiment; and

figure 8 provides, in its schematic front view, a fourth embodiment of the novel transverse section according to the present disclosure, and also comprises a schematic cross-sectional view of the drive belt assembled from two types of transverse sections according to this fourth embodiment.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 schematically shows a central part of a continuously variable transmission 51 for a drive train of, for example, a passenger motor vehicle. The transmission 51 is well known and includes at least a first variable pulley 52 and a second variable pulley 53. In the drive train, the first pulley 52 is coupled to and driven by a prime mover, such as an electric motor or an internal combustion engine, and the second pulley 53 is coupled to and drives the drive wheels of the motor vehicle, typically via a plurality of transmissions.

The transmission pulleys 52, 53 each generally include: a first conical pulley disc fixed to the pulley shaft 54, 55 of the respective pulley 52, 53; and a second conical pulley disc which is axially displaceable relative to the respective pulley shaft 54, 55 and is only fixed to the respective pulley shaft 54, 55 in a rotationally fixed manner. The drive belt 50 of the transmission 51 is wound around pulleys 52, 53 while being accommodated between pulley sheaves thereof. As shown in fig. 1, the trajectory of the belt 50 in the transmission 51 includes two straight portions ST and two curved portions CT in which the belt 50 is wound around a respective one of the two transmission pulleys 52, 53. The drive belt 50 consists of a ring stack 8 and a plurality of transverse segments 1, which transverse segments 1 are mounted on the ring stack 8 in an at least approximately successive arrangement along the circumference of the ring stack 8. For the sake of simplicity, only some of these transverse sections 1 are shown in fig. 1. In the drive belt 50, the transverse segments 1 are movable along the circumferential direction of a ring stack 8, which ring stack 8 is typically composed of a plurality of flexible metal strips or rings stacked on top of each other, i.e. nested within each other. During operation of the transmission 51, the transverse section 1 of the drive belt 50 at the first pulley 52 is driven in its rotational direction by friction. These driven transverse segments 1 push the preceding transverse segment 1 in the circumferential direction of the ring stack 8 of the drive belt 50 and finally rotationally drive the second pulley 53 again by friction. In order to generate such friction (force) between the transverse section 1 and the transmission pulleys 52, 53, said pulley discs of each pulley 52, 53 are pressed against each other, whereby they exert a clamping force on the transverse section 1 in its axial direction. For this purpose, an electronically controlled and hydraulically acting movement device (not shown) acting on the movable pulley disc of each pulley 52, 53 is provided in the transmission 51. In addition to exerting a clamping force on the drive belt 50, these kinematic means also control the respective radial positions R1 and R2 of the drive belt 50 at the pulleys 52, 53, thereby controlling the speed ratio provided by the transmission 51 between its pulley axles 54, 55.

In fig. 2, an earlier known example of a drive belt 50 is schematically shown. On the left side of fig. 2, the drive belt 50 is shown in a sectional view and, on the right side of fig. 2, only a side view of its transverse section 1 is included. As can be seen from fig. 2, the transverse section 1 has a shape substantially resembling the letter "V", i.e. substantially V-shaped. In other words, the side faces 12 which are in contact (friction) with the transmission pulleys 52, 53 on either axial side of the transverse section 1 are oriented to each other at an angle which closely matches the angle defined between the conical pulley discs of the transmission pulleys 52, 53. In practice, these flanks, i.e. the pulley contact faces 12, are corrugated by means of a macroscopic contour or have a rough surface structure (not shown), so that only the higher-lying peaks of the corrugated contour or of the surface roughness come into contact with the transmission pulleys 52, 53. This particular feature of the design of the transverse section 1 allows the friction between the drive belt 50 and the transmission pulleys 52, 53 to be optimized by having the cooling oil applied in the known transmission 51 contained in the lower part of the corrugated profile or surface roughness.

The transverse section 1 defines a base part 10 and two pillar parts 11, wherein the base part 10 extends substantially in the axial direction of the drive belt 50 and the pillar parts 11 each extend from a respective axial side of the base part 10 substantially in the radial direction of the drive belt 50. In its thickness direction, each transverse segment 1 extends between its front 3 and rear 2 surfaces, both the front 3 and rear 2 surfaces being oriented at least substantially in the circumferential direction of the drive belt 50. An opening 5 is defined centrally between the post portion 11 and the base portion 10 of each transverse section 1, in which opening 5 a circumferential section of the ring stack 8 is accommodated. A radially outward portion 13 of the circumferential surface of the base 10, hereinafter referred to as a support surface 13, forms a radially inner boundary of the central opening 5 and supports the ring stack 8 from the radially inner side. The support surface 13 is generally convexly curved to promote preferred centering alignment of the ring stack 8 during operation, i.e., rotation, of the drive belt 50 in the transmission 51.

As seen in the front view of fig. 2, i.e. on both the left and right post sections 11 of the transverse section 1, hooks 9 are provided which are suspended in the axial direction above the central opening 5. The hook 9, in particular its bottom surface, i.e. its radially inward surface 14, also partially closes the central opening 5 in the radially outward direction. In the drive belt 50, the hooks 9 of the transverse segments 1 overlap the ring stack 8 in the axial direction and are thus prevented or at least impeded from possibly separating from the ring stack 8 in the radially inward direction.

In a row of transverse segments 1 of the drive belt 50, at least a part of the front body surface 3 of a transverse segment 1 abuts at least a part of the rear body surface 2 of the respective preceding transverse segment 1 in the row, while at least a part of the rear body surface 2 of a transverse segment 1 abuts at least a part of the front body surface 3 of the respective subsequent transverse segment 1. Adjoining transverse segments 1 can be inclined relative to one another while being held in mutual contact at their surface portions 4 by axially extending and radially convexly curved surface portions 4 of their front surfaces 3, which surface portions 4 are referred to hereinafter as inclined edges 4. Below the tilting edge 4, i.e. radially inwards, the transverse sections are tapered, as seen in the side view of fig. 2, to allow such mutual tilting without interfering below the tilting edge with the respective bases 10 of the adjoining transverse sections 1. Note that although in fig. 2 the beveled edge 4 is located in the base 10 of the transverse section 1, it is also known to locate it at least partially in the pillar portion 11, i.e. in two axially separated but radially aligned sections.

As mentioned above, the drive belt 50 of fig. 2 has a relatively earlier known design. In fig. 3, a more recent known design thereof is shown. Firstly, the latter known design of the drive belt 50 differs from the former in that the two pillar portions 11 of the transverse segments 1 are each provided with a projection 6 projecting from the front surface 3 of the respective transverse segment 1 substantially in the circumferential direction. In the drive belt 50, the projections 6 of a transverse segment 1 are inserted into recesses (not shown) provided in the rear surface 2 of an adjacent transverse segment 1 to limit relative movement between the adjacent transverse segments 1 at least in the radial direction, but usually also in the axial direction.

Moreover, this latter known design of the drive belt 50 includes two types I, II of transverse segments 1, namely a first transverse segment type I, one post portion 11 of which, namely the hook portion 15 of the right post portion 11-r in FIG. 3, is significantly larger, i.e., extends further in the axial direction, than the hook portion 16 of the opposite, namely left post portion 11-1; and a second transverse segment type II, in contrast, the hook portion 17 of its left post portion 11-1 is significantly larger than the hook portion 18 of its right post portion 11-r. In a row of transverse segments 1 of the drive belt 50, the two transverse segment types I, II are arranged one after the other. Furthermore, this particular, asymmetric design of the transverse segments 1 is axially mirrored between the two types I, II thereof, which allows a relatively easy mounting of the respective transverse segment 1 on the ring stack 8, since its smaller hooks 16, 18 provide a relatively wide access into the central opening 5 in the axial direction. In the drive belt 50, the larger hooks 15, 17 of the two types I, II of transverse segments 1 cooperate in the axial direction to reduce the width of the entrance of its central opening 5 and to accommodate the ring stack 8 therein.

In accordance with the present disclosure, in both known drive belt designs, the combined axial extension of the hooks 9, 15 and 16, 17 and 18 of the individual transverse segments 1 with respect to the width of the ring stack 8, i.e. the overlap between them, is limited. In particular, the axial extension of such a combination is limited by the following requirements: it must be possible to insert the ring stack 8 into the central opening 5 of the transverse section 1 without the ring stack 8 being substantially deformed. In these known designs, it is therefore of interest that in said straight trajectory section ST of the drive belt 50, with the transverse section 1 already at a relatively small axial displacement relative to the ring stack 8, the transverse section can be rotated around the axial side of the ring stack 8, whereby the opposite axial side of the ring stack 8 will be released from the central opening 5. The present disclosure solves this problem with a novel design of the transverse section 1.

Fig. 4 provides in a first embodiment thereof a schematic front view of a transverse section 101 according to the present disclosure. In particular, two types I, II of novel transverse sections 101 are provided, namely a first transverse section type I, one pillar portion 11 of which, i.e. the left pillar portion 11-1 in fig. 4, is provided with a notch 20 at least with respect to the profile of the opposite, i.e. the right pillar portion 11-r thereof; and a second transverse section type II, only the right pillar portion 11-r of which is provided with such a notch 20. In either case, the notches 20 extend from the central opening 5 of the transverse section 101 into its respective post portion 11 in the axial direction such that the axial width W1 of that respective post portion 11 having a notch 20 is locally less than the axial width W2 of the respective opposing post portion 11 without such a notch 20, as shown in fig. 4, measured at least axially in line with the support surface 13, i.e., at substantially the same radial position as the support surface 13. Furthermore, in fig. 4, the contour of the respective pillar portion 11-1, 11-r of the existing transverse section 1 is schematically indicated with a dashed line for comparison, i.e. to define the concept of a notch 20 according to the present disclosure with respect to the state of the art.

Preferably and as also shown in fig. 4, the hook portions 21 of the respective post portions 11 of the novel transverse section 101 extend in the axial direction towards the axial middle AM thereof to approximately the same extent. The novel transverse section 101 is therefore advantageously shaped substantially axially symmetrically, i.e. with the exception of the presence of the notch 20 only in one of its post portions 11-1, 11-r.

Note that the axial extent of the hook 21 shown in fig. 4 is merely indicative. In particular, the axial extent of the hook 21 relative to the width of the central opening 5 may be less than that shown in fig. 4 to allow a wider ring stack 8 to be installed in the opening 5. Thereby, the power transmission capacity of the transmission belt 50 is improved, however, at the expense of reducing the amount of overlap between the hook portion 21 and the ring stack 8. In accordance with the present disclosure, it has been found that a practical optimum value for the axial extent of each hook 21 is 10% to 20%, more preferably 12.5% to 17.5%, or about 15% of the axial width of the central opening 5 excluding the notch 20. It is also preferred that the axial width W1 of the post 11 with the notch 20 be from 0.5 to 0.8 times, more preferably from 0.6 to 0.7 times, the axial width W2 of the opposing post 11 of the novel transverse section 101. These particular relative dimensions provide the best balance between the overlap created between the ring stack 8 and the hook portion 21 and the remaining strength of the post portion 11 with the notch 20 in accordance with the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 5, the novel transverse segments 101 of the type I, II are all incorporated into the drive belt 50. A column part 11 of the first transverse segment type I without indentations 20, seen in the circumferential direction of the drive belt 50; 11-r with a post 11 of the second transverse section type II having a notch 20; 11-r, and vice versa. The axial play of the ring stack 8 relative to the row of transverse segments 101 of the drive belt 50 is thereby advantageously determined by the respective column portion 11 without the notches 20. Preferably, the two transverse segment types I, II are included in the drive belt 50 in a sequential manner.

As schematically shown in fig. 5, the drive belt 50 is assembled from the new type of transverse segments 101 by placing the transverse segments 101 of the first type I (whose left-hand post portion 11-1 is provided with the notch 20) to the left axial side of the ring stack 8 and by moving the transverse segments 101 to the right relative to the ring stack 8 inserted therein into the notch 20 until the right axial side of the ring stack 8 passes over the hook portions 21 of the right-hand post portions 11-r of the respective transverse segments 101 of the first type I. Depending on the shape, i.e. the outer contour, of the novel transverse section 101, such insertion of the ring stack 8 into the recess 20 can be effected solely by linear, axial translation of the transverse section 101, or also with regard to a height-wise translation and/or rotation of the transverse section. Thereafter, the respective transverse section 101 is rotated into axial alignment with the ring stack 8 and moved a little to the left to centre it axially with respect to the ring stack 8. The novel transverse section 101 of the second type II is mounted on the ring stack 8 in a similar but axially mirrored manner.

Fig. 6 provides, in a second embodiment thereof, a schematic front view of a transverse section 102 according to the present disclosure. In this second embodiment, the axial boundary surface 22 of the indentation 20 is oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to a straight, imaginary line L drawn through the following points:

a first point P1 on the outer contour of the hook portion 21 of the post portion 11 without the notch 20, this first point P1 defining the entrance of the central opening 5 of the transverse section 102 in the axial direction; and

a second point P2 defined by the radially innermost side of the axial boundary surface 22 of the notch 20.

This imaginary line L effectively represents the radially inner side of the ring stack 8 when the ring stack 8 is inserted into the gap 20 when the drive belt 50 is assembled. The recess 20 has an optimum dimension in the axial direction by means of an axial boundary surface 22 extending perpendicularly to this imaginary line L in order to accommodate the ring stack 8 during assembly.

Preferably and as also shown in fig. 6, the axial boundary surface 22 of the notch 20 is oriented substantially parallel to the pulley contact surface 12 of the novel transverse section 102 that is closest to the notch 20. Thereby, the post portion 11 provided with the notch 20 may advantageously be shaped such that its axial width remains substantially the same along the radial height of the notch 20. Additionally, the hook portions 21 of the opposing post portions 11 without the notches 20 are preferably shaped such that:

the virtual line L is oriented at an angle relative to the support surface 13 corresponding to the angle of the pulley contact face 12; and/or

The top surface 23 of the hook portion 21 of the opposite post portion 11, without the notch 20, is preferably oriented at least partially substantially parallel to the imaginary line L or at a shallower angle with respect to the axial direction.

In this way, during the assembly of the drive belt 50, an undesired contact between the post portion 11, in particular the hook portion 21 thereof, without the notch 20 and the ring stack 8 can be avoided.

Note that in fig. 6, only one type of the novel transverse section 102, particularly type I, is shown, with the notch 20 (only) provided in the left post portion 11-1 thereof. However, in the context of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the drive belt 50 will also include a novel transverse section 102 of the second type II, with the notch 20 being provided (only) in the right-hand pillar portion 11-r thereof (not shown).

Fig. 7 provides, in a third embodiment thereof, a schematic front view of a transverse section 103 according to the present disclosure. In this third embodiment, the other, radially inner boundary surface 24 of the indentation 20 of the novel transverse section 103 extends away from the support surface 13 not only in the axial direction but also in a radially inward direction. Thereby, the ring stack 8 can be inserted into the central opening 5 at a relatively large angle, so that a relatively thick ring stack 8 can be inserted between the hooks 21 through the entrance of the central opening 5, in particular in comparison with the otherwise identically shaped second embodiment of the transverse section 102 discussed above.

Preferably, in this third embodiment of the novel transverse section 103, and on the basis of geometrical considerations, said imaginary line L intersects a third point P3 defined by the interface between the radially inner boundary surface 24 of the notch 20 and the support surface 13 or a convexly curved transition surface (not shown), which may be provided between the radially inner boundary surface 24 of the notch 20 and the support surface 13.

Fig. 8 provides, in a fourth embodiment thereof, a schematic front view of a transverse section 104 according to the present disclosure. In this fourth embodiment of the novel transverse section 104, its pulley contact surface 12 extends from (an axial side of) the base portion 10 to (an axial side of) the pillar portion 10. Further, the inclined edge 4 is located in the pillar portion 11, i.e., is provided in two sections 4-l, 4-r located in the left and right pillar portions 11-1, 11-r, respectively. In particular, the two sections 4-l, 4-r of the inclined edge 4 are substantially axially flush with the support surface 13, i.e. at substantially the same radial position as the support surface 13. The latter two design features are known and are known to improve the operating efficiency of the transmission 51 incorporating the drive belt 50 provided with these novel transverse sections 104. Also in this fourth embodiment of the novel transverse section 104, the notch 20 comprises the following preferred design features.

Firstly, a convexly curved transition surface 25 is provided between the radially inner boundary surface 24 of the indentation 20 and the axial side edge of the support surface 13. The convex radius of curvature of this transition surface 25 preferably corresponds to the convex radius of curvature of the other transition surface provided at the opposite axial side edge of the support surface 13 where the support surface 13 merges with the axially facing side surface of the opposite post portion 11 without the notch 20. It is also preferred that the transition surface 25 and the further transition surface are arranged axially symmetrically with respect to the axial middle AM of the novel transverse section 104. By these latter design features of the novel transverse section 104, the load of the ring stack 8 during operation of the drive belt 50 will be more advantageously, in particular more evenly distributed between its axial sides.

Secondly, and with the same effect, the convexly curved surface portion 27 of the novel transverse section 104 is arranged between the radially outer boundary surface 26 of the indentation 20 and the corresponding radially inward surface 14 of the hook 21. The convex radius of curvature of this particular surface portion 27 preferably corresponds to the convex radius of curvature of a further transition surface provided at the location where the radially inward surface 14 of the opposing hook portion 21 merges with the axially facing side surface of the opposing post portion 11 without the notch 20.

Third, the radially inner boundary surface 24 of the gap 20 is at least partially concavely curved, in particular such that the corner between the radially inner boundary surface 24 and the axial boundary surface 22 of the gap 20 is less than 90 degrees. Preferably, the corners are curved with a radius of less than 0.5mm, while the concave radius of curvature of the radially inner boundary surface 24 is equal to or greater than 1.5 mm. Even though the indentation 20 extends further into the base 10 of the transverse section 104 by means of such a concavely curved radially inner-lying boundary surface 24, its extension in the axial direction can thereby advantageously be reduced, at least with respect to a straight and flat radially inner-lying boundary surface 24 coinciding with the imaginary line L, as is shown in fig. 7. Thus, this design feature advantageously provides a minimal reduction in bending stiffness and/or mechanical strength of the respective post 11 having the notch 20 relative to a post 11 without the notch 20.

In addition to all of the details of the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, the present disclosure also relates to and includes all of the features of the claims. Reference signs in the claims do not limit their scope but are provided merely as a non-limiting example of corresponding features. Depending on the circumstances, the claimed features may be applied individually in a given product or in a given process, but any combination of two or more such features may also be applied therein.

The present disclosure, as represented by the present disclosure, is not limited to the embodiments and/or examples explicitly mentioned herein, but also includes modifications, adaptations and practical applications thereof, particularly those that may occur to one skilled in the art.