Belt for continuously variable transmission

A belt for a continuously variable transmission having a drive pulley and a driven pulley, the belt comprising

• a plurality of metal elements, each metal element having a front main face and a rear main face for being brought into contact with an adjacent metal element, a saddle face connecting the main faces to each other, at least one ring slot in the saddle face, a lower ear surface, a projection extending from one of the front and rear main faces, and a recess formed on the other of the front and rear main faces, wherein the projection from an adjacent metal member can be loosely fitted therein;
• at least one metal ring assembly positioned in the ring slot;
• wherein the belt is adapted to be reeved around the drive pulley and the driven pulley to transmit a driving force between the pulleys in a state wherein the plurality of metal elements are supported by the metal ring assembly in the ring slot;
• and wherein the relationship of θNH<θY is established between the following two angles:
• (i) an angle θY formed between a straight line drawn from a lower end of one of left and right pulley-abutment faces of one of the metal elements to a laterally outer end of the other of the left and right lower ear surfaces thereof and a straight line drawn from a point of intersection of a straight line drawn down radially inwards from the laterally outer end of the other lower ear surface with the outer peripheral surface of the metal ring assembly to the lower end of the one pulley-abutment face;
• and (ii) an angle θNH formed between a tangent line drawn from the lower end of the one pulley-abutment face of the metal element onto the outer peripheral surface of the projection and a tangent line drawn from the lower end of the one pulley-abutment face of the metal element onto the inner peripheral surface of said recess.