Patent ID: 8205444

Claim:
A hydraulic variator system for improved torque reversal performance, the variator system including a hydraulic variator pump linked to a hydraulic variator motor via a hydraulic circuit, the hydraulic circuit comprising: a first hydraulic line connecting the hydraulic variator pump to the hydraulic variator motor; a second separate hydraulic line connecting the hydraulic variator pump to the hydraulic variator motor; a make-up hydraulic circuit bridging the first hydraulic line and the second hydraulic line, wherein the make-up hydraulic circuit includes first and second electronically actuatable valves having mutually exclusive open states such that when one of the first and second electronically actuatable valves is open, the other of the first and second electronically actuatable valves is closed, the first and second electronically actuatable valves reversing states in response to an electronic signal slightly prior to a torque reversal, the first electronically actuatable valve linking the first hydraulic line to a fluid source and the second electronically actuatable valve linking the second hydraulic line to the fluid source; and a flushing cooling circuit comprising a three-way valve for selectively flushing fluid from the first hydraulic line and the second hydraulic line.