Patent ID: 7201689

Claim:
Driving belt, comprising: an enclosed tension element ( 2 ) in the form of a number of nested flat rings; and metal transverse elements ( 1 ) movable freely in a longitudinal direction along the tension element ( 2 ) and freely movable relative to a circumference of the tension element ( 2 ), radial play provided between the tension element and the transverse elements such that the transverse elements tilt relative to the tension element about an axial direction and contact between the tension element and the transverse elements solely takes place by friction, which tension element and transverse elements form a pushbelt to be used wedged between the sheaves of a set of pulleys of a continuously variable transmission, which transverse elements ( 1 ) each provided with a body part ( 10 ), a head part ( 12 ) and a neck part ( 11 ) between the latter two parts, on either side of the neck part ( 11 ) between the body part ( 10 ) and the head part ( 12 ) two axially oriented openings ( 17 ) being present, in each of which openings a part of the tension element ( 2 ) is accommodated, the radially lower limit ( 19 ) of each opening ( 17 ) formed by the body part ( 10 ) being intended for contact with the respective part of the tension element ( 2 ), the body part ( 10 ) provided on either side with contact surfaces ( 13 ) oriented substantially in an axial direction and diverging from each other in the radial direction, which contact surfaces ( 13 ) are intended for contact with the sheaves of the pulleys, and which body part ( 10 ) is provided with a substantially axially oriented tilting line ( 14 ), situated in a front side of the transverse element ( 1 ) in said body part ( 10 ), and along which two adjacent, mutually contacting transverse elements ( 1 ) in the driving belt can rotate in relation to each other, wherein an upper limit ( 16 ) of each opening ( 17 ) formed by the head part ( 12 ) extends in the axial direction at least to an imaginary line ( 18 ), which extends from the radially lower limit ( 19 ) to the radially upper limit ( 16 ) of the respective opening ( 17 ) in line with a corresponding contact surface ( 13 ), and wherein axial ends of the head part ( 12 ) are each provided with an additional contact surface ( 20 ) oriented substantially in the axial direction and intended for contact with the sheaves of the pulleys, and wherein a radial or height dimension of the additional contact surfaces ( 20 ) of the head part ( 12 ) is at most equal to one third of a radial dimension of the contact surfaces ( 13 ) of the body part ( 10 ) and is larger than one fifth of that dimension.