Patent ID: 6926631

Claim:
A continuously variable transmission, comprising: two adjustable pulleys, each of the adjustable pulleys comprising a pair of mutually displaceable essentially frusto-conical pulley sheaves having a radial dimension provided on a pulley shaft, each sheave having a sheave face, whereby the sheave faces of a pulley are mutually oriented at a pulley angle, an endless flexible belt for transmitting torque, the flexible belt provided with a number of transverse elements contiguously and slideably mounted on a carrier comprising at least one continuous band, the elements being provided with a projection for interaction with a recess of an adjacent element and comprising two lateral side faces, which side faces are mutually oriented at a belt angle such that the flexible belt tapers radially inwardly and which side faces are positioned for interacting with the sheave faces of a corresponding pulley under the influence of a clamping force to be exerted on the flexible belt by the sheaves, wherein, the belt angle is larger than the pulley angle by a value in the range from 1/30 th of a degree to 1/3 rd of a degree for at least a substantial part of the radial dimension of the pulley sheaves, and application of the clamping force causes the pulley angle of said at least one pulley to increase.