REVERSIBLE CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION

摘要

The continuously variable transmission of the present invention comprises a pair of elements such as toroidal discs, spaced from each other and rotatable about a transmission axis and having facing surfaces, a third element rotatable about the transmission axis, having at least one roller rotatably mounted on a portion of the third element between the first and second elements for peripheral surface contact with the facing concave surfaces of the first and second elements, and means for shifting the points of contact between the roller and the first element and the roller and the second element so as to change the radii from the transmission axis of the points of contact. Preferably, the discs are the driver elements, and the third element is the driven element. The angular velocity of the driven third element can be continuously varied from forward through neutral to reverse, which obviates the need for either a clutch for shifting the transmission into neutral or an external reverse gear for reversing the output of the transmission.