Patent ID: 7217209

Claim:
A continuously variable transmission, comprising: a drive pulley having a fixed pulley half and a movable pulley half; a driven pulley having a fixed pulley half and a movable pulley half; and a metal belt having: a metal ring assembly including a plurality of endless metal rings laminated on one another; and a plurality of metal elements supported on the metal ring assembly, wherein the metal belt is wound around the drive pulley and the driven pulley, wherein the fixed pulley half of the drive pulley and the fixed pulley half of the driven pulley are disposed in diagonal positions relative to each other, and wherein the movable pulley half of the drive pulley and the movable pulley half of the driven pulley are in diagonal positions relative to each other, wherein the movable pulley half of the drive pulley has a flexural stiffness higher than a flexural stiffness of the fixed pulley half of the drive pulley, wherein each metal element comprises: a trapezoidal shaped main body, a triangular shaped ear portion, and a neck portion, wherein only the neck portion connects the ear portion to the main body, wherein a clearance (β) is defined between an inner edge of the metal ring assembly and the neck portion of the each metal element, and wherein a stiffness ratio (Km/Ks) of the movable pulley half with respect to the fixed pulley half is equal to or more than 1.56.