Pulley assembly with an improved clutch for a continuously variable transmission

A pulley assembly for a continuously variable transmission in a vehicle, said pulley assembly comprising:

• a shaft having an axis,
• a supporting element rotatable about said axis,
• a first half pulley rotationally connected to said supporting element,
• a second half pulley facing said first half pulley for defining a seat adapted to accommodate a belt of said transmission,
• at least one of said first and second half pulleys being longitudinally mobile with respect to said supporting element, and
• a clutch comprising:
• a second supporting element connected to said shaft,
• a drum connected to said supporting element and accommodating said second supporting element, and
• a plurality of friction elements hinged to said second supporting element about respective hinge axes to selectively cooperate with said drum,
• wherein respective centers of gravity of said friction elements are located before the respective hinge axes with respect to a given direction of rotation of said shaft which defines a forward running condition of said vehicle such that each friction element is configured to rotate about the respective hinge axis to contact said drum with a rotating direction that is the same as said given direction of rotation to achieve a trailing mounting of said friction elements, and
• one-way coupling means arranged between said supporting element and said shaft to allow the driving of said shaft when the angular speed of said supporting element tends to exceed that of said shaft.