Infinitely variable transmission
AssigneeVaribox (PTY) Limited
InventorJohannes Jacobus NAUDE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An IVT machine includes an input shaft, a drive wheel on the input shaft, an output shaft, a ratio changing device which is mounted on the output shaft, an endless belt which passes over the drive wheel and in an open loop on the ratio changing device, control elements for enlarging and reducing the belt loop dimension about the output shaft axis, belt guide elements providing a throat through which the belt enters and leaves its loop on the ratio changing device, and a drive arrangement on the ratio changing device for the transmission of drive power to the output shaft and is engaged with the belt in a portion of its loop on the device and engageable with the belt on both sides of the throat in its transition across the throat during rotation of the ratio changing device.
Claims7
An IVT machine comprising:
- a first shaft,
- a drive wheel which is rotatable with the first shaft,
- an output shaft which is rotatable about an output axis,
- a ratio changing device, having ratio changing formations, which is mounted coaxially on and rotatably with, the output shaft,
- an endless belt which passes over the drive wheel and which has drive formations which are positively engaged with corresponding ratio changing formations at respective locations which are at a distance RD from the output axis and which are angularly displaced from each other by a variable angle AD, relative to the output axis,
- a control means for varying the distance RD thereby to effect an incremental change, of defined magnitude, during one revolution of the output shaft, in the ratio of rotation of the input shaft to the rotation of the output shaft, and
- wherein (AD)×N=360°, where N is a variable integer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.