Patent ID: 7967707

Claim:
A method for improving the towing suitability of a motor vehicle equipped with a belt-driven conical-pulley transmission, said method comprising the steps of: providing torque-transmitting engagement between an input unit and an output unit of a belt-driven conical-pulley transmission having respective hydraulically-controlled conical disk pairs forming part of the input unit and of the output unit, each disk pair including an axially fixed conical disk and an axially movable conical disk that is movable by hydraulic pressure, wherein the input unit of the transmission is drivable by a drive engine of a motor vehicle to transmit an input torque from the drive engine to the output unit to drive wheels carried by the vehicle; sensing a torque input to the transmission output unit from movement of the wheels of the vehicle; sensing an absence of hydraulic pressure acting on the axially movable conical disks of the transmission; interrupting torque-transmitting engagement between the drive engine and the transmission when an input torque acts on the output unit of the belt-driven conical pulley transmission from movement of the wheels of the vehicle and in the absence of sensed hydraulic pressure acting on the axially movable conical disks of the belt-driven conical-pulley transmission; providing a detent means between a drive element operatively connected with the drive engine and a hydraulically operable sensing piston within the input unit for preventing unwanted premature restoration of torque transmission; and maintaining the interrupted torque-transmitting engagement between the drive engine and the transmission by the detent means during the time an input torque acts on the output unit of the belt-driven conical-pulley transmission from movement of the wheels of the vehicle and in the absence of sensed hydraulic pressure acting on the axially movable conical disks of the transmission.