Transverse segment for a drive belt and drive belt for a continuously variable transmission having a transverse segment and a ring stack - Patents.com

Abstract

To provide a traversing segment for a driving belt that permits a transmission to transmit higher torque or to be actuated with less vertical drag between the driving belt and a pulley.SOLUTION: In a belt having a row of traversing segments (10) attached to a stack of a plurality of rings overlapped with each other and a driving belt for a pulley type continuously variable transmission, an offset is provided in a radial direction between a projecting portion (40) projected out from a front surface (11) of the traversing segment and a corresponding cavity (41) provided on a rear surface (12) of the traversing segment. Thereby, in the row of the traversing segments in the driving belt, the traversing segments are inclined backward by forcibly inserting the projecting portion (40) in the cavity (41).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transverse segment for forming part of a drive belt for a continuously variable transmission with two pulleys and a drive belt. Such a drive belt is known from WO 2015 / 063132 and has a row of metal transverse segments attached to a stack of continuous metal bands, i.e., respectively flat and thin rings, superimposed on one another. The transverse segments define slots for receiving the ring stack and for confining respective peripheral sections of the ring stack while allowing the transverse segments to move along the circumference of the ring stack. This particular type of drive belt is also called push type drive belt or push belt.

[0002] In the following description, the axial, radial and circumferential directions are defined with respect to the drive belt when it is disposed in a circular configuration on the outside of the transmission, and further, the thickness dimension of the transverse segments is defined in the circumferential direction of the drive belt, the height dimension of the transverse segments is defined in said radial direction, and the width dimension of the transverse segments is defined in said axial direction.

[0003] Each known transverse segment has a base portion, an intermediate portion and an upper portion. The intermediate portion of the transverse segment extends in the radial direction and connects the base portion and the upper portion of the transverse segment. Between the base portion and the upper portion, on each side of the intermediate portion of the transverse segment, a respective slot is defined for accommodating a respective ring stack of the drive belt. In each slot, a bottom surface of the slot facing radially outwardly contacts and supports the ring stack in the radially outward direction. These bottom surfaces of the slot associated with the base portion of the transverse segment are hereinafter referred to as support surfaces.

[0004] In a row of transverse segments of the drive belt, at least a portion of the front body surface (facing in the belt rotation direction) of a transverse segment abuts at least a portion of the rear body surface (facing rearward with respect to the belt rotation direction) of the respective preceding transverse segment in the row, while at least a portion of the rear body surface of a transverse segment abuts at least a portion of the front body surface of the respective succeeding transverse segment. At least one of the front body surface and the rear body surface of a transverse segment, for example the front body surface, has a convexly curved surface portion extending in the axial direction. This curved surface portion divides the front body surface into a radially outer surface portion and a radially inner surface portion oriented at an angle to each other. The abutting transverse segments of the drive belt can be inclined relative to each other while remaining in contact with each other at such curved surface portions, which are referred to below as inclined edges, but also as locking edges in the art. The provision of the inclined edges allows the row of transverse segments of the drive belt to follow the local curvature of the ring stack imposed by the transmission pulley.

[0005] The transverse segments are further provided with protrusions, i.e. studs protruding from the front body surface, and cavities, i.e. holes recessed in the rear body surface. In the row of transverse segments of the drive belt, the protrusions of the following transverse segments are at least partially located in the cavities of the preceding transverse segments, so that the individual movements of the abutting transverse segments in a plane perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the drive belt are prevented or at least limited to the play of the studs inside the cavities. Typically, the protrusions and the cavities are of the same overall shape, for example mainly cylindrical with a slight conical shape, i.e. tapered. However, since the protrusions are received in the cavities, they are sized somewhat smaller than the cavities, so that in the drive belt there is a gap between the outer circumference of the protrusions and the inner circumference of the cavities in all directions. In particular, in the case of said mainly cylindrical shape, the height and diameter of the protrusions are smaller than the depth and diameter of the cavities.

[0006] Regarding such clearance of the protrusion within the cavity, JP 2000-179626 A discloses setting a smaller clearance below the protrusion than above the protrusion to suppress wear, particularly for the mainly cylindrical shape, which is achieved by positioning the protrusion somewhat lower than the cavity in the transverse segment, in which case the centerline of the protrusion is located radially inward of the centerline of the cavity.

[0007] For the sake of completeness, it is noted that alternative designs of the currently considered type of drive belt are known in the art, such as WO 2018 / 210456. This alternative drive belt design has only one ring stack arranged in one centrally located opening of each transverse segment. This central opening opens towards the radially outward direction of the drive belt and is therefore defined between the base part and the pillar part by the base part and the two pillar parts of the transverse segment, each extending radially outward from each side of the base part. This type of transverse segment is also generally provided with the above-mentioned pair of protrusions and cavities, centrally located in the base part and / or in two examples, one in each pillar part.

[0008] During operation of these known drive belts, the relatively leading transverse segment, viewed in the direction of rotation of the drive belt in the transmission, rotates with respect to the trailing transverse segment, because it traverses from a straight track portion of the drive belt arranged between the pulleys to a curved track portion of the drive belt at the pulley, in particular in said curved track portion the transverse segments are oriented with respect to one another at an inclination angle α which can be determined or at least approximated by the radius of curvature Rr of the curved track portion and the thickness t of the transverse segment as follows: α[deg]=(180·t) / (π·Rr) (1) In such a relatively rotated orientation of two successive transverse segments, the two successive transverse segments can remain in mutual contact at the inclined edge of the subsequent transverse segment. Since the inclined edge is defined by a convex curvature rather than a sharp edge, it can be geometrically derived that when the successive transverse segments are rotated relative to each other, the preceding transverse segment not only rolls on the inclined edge of the subsequent transverse segment, but also slides radially outward on such inclined edge. In theory, such radial sliding will cause slight wear of the inclined edge and slight belt internal friction losses, but these effects are minimal in practice.

[0009] However, according to the invention, another effect, hitherto unnoticed, occurs as a result of such radial sliding: the basis of the invention is the observation that, by reducing such radial sliding, the friction between the transverse segments and the pulleys surprisingly also increases in the direction of rotation of the pulleys, i.e. in the tangential direction: this other effect is of course highly favorable in that it allows the transmission to transmit higher torques or to operate with less normal forces between the drive belt and the pulleys.

[0010] According to the invention, a preferred way to reduce said radial sliding of the transverse segments is to arrange the transverse segments relative to one another in a rearwardly inclined position relative to the ring stack of the drive belt in a straight track section of the drive belt by positioning the protrusions lower in the transverse segments to such an extent that the radially inner, i.e. lower, side of the protrusions is located radially inner, i.e. lower, of the radially inner, i.e. lower, side of the cavity. By this means, even when moving in a straight line between the pulleys, the transverse segments are inclined rearward in the row of transverse segments in the drive belt by the forced insertion of the protrusions into the (higher located) cavities. The transverse segments therefore enter the pulleys in such a rearwardly inclined orientation, whereby said radial sliding of the transverse segments is preferably reduced and / or the friction of the transverse segments with the pulleys in the tangent direction is preferably increased.

[0011] Another effect of said backward inclination of the transverse segments is that the noise generated by the operation of the drive belt in the transmission, in particular by the contact of the transverse segments one after the other with the pulleys, is preferably reduced (by up to minus 10 dB). This unexpected but very advantageous side effect of the invention can be attributed to the situation that, compared to a transverse segment which is oriented approximately perpendicular to the ring stack when entering the pulley, i.e. radially with respect to the pulley, a backward inclined transverse segment enters the pulley more gradually, and thus the initial contact of the transverse segment with the pulley is more instantaneous.

[0012] In particular for said predominantly cylindrical shape of the protrusions and cavities, according to the invention, the centerline of the protrusions is located radially inward of the centerline of the cavity by an amount CLO that is greater than the radial clearance between the protrusions and the cavity, which can be approximated by half the difference between the diameter (inner diameter) Dh of the cavity and the diameter (outer diameter) Dp of the protrusions, whereby the required centerline offset CLO is defined as follows: CLO≧0.5·(Dh-Dp) (2) It should be noted that the cavity and protrusion are generally minimally tapered, i.e., slightly conical, so that the cavity diameter Dh and protrusion diameter Dp are compared at equal distances perpendicular to the rear and front body faces, respectively, of the transverse segment.

[0013] The centerline offset CLO according to equation (2) causes the transverse segment to be inclined backward relative to the radial direction when entering the curved section of the track in the pulley by an inclination angle β which can be determined or at least approximated as follows: β=arctan((CLO-0.5·(Dh-Dp)) / t) (3) In a preferred embodiment of the invention, upper and lower limits are defined for such tilt angle β as follows: (180·t) / (π·Rmax)≦β[deg]≦(180·t) / (π·Rmin) (4) Here, Rmin represents the minimum radius of the curved track portion of the drive belt occurring in the transmission, and Rmax represents the maximum radius.

[0014] More preferably, however, the inclination angle β is less than or equal to half the upper limit defined by equation (4). After all, an inclination angle halfway between said upper and lower limits already reduces to a minimum the average value of said radial slide. Even more preferably, in order to minimize undesirable side effects of the invention, such as the forces acting on the projections to incline the transverse segments backwards, the inclination angle β is set equal to the lower limit defined by equation (4).

[0015] For example, for a typical drive belt having an Rr_max value of 77 mm and a t value of 1.5 mm, the present invention specifies that the inclination angle β preferably has a value of 1 degree. In combination with a typical radial gap between the protrusions and the cavities of 0.025 mm, equation (3) specifies a centerline offset CLO of 0.050 mm. In this regard, practically applicable values ​​for the centerline offset CLO are in the range of 0.035 mm to 0.100 mm.

[0016] The above mentioned invention and the technical operating principles on which it is based will now be described with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a continuously variable transmission with a drive belt running on two pulleys. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a known circumferentially oriented drive belt; [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a transverse segment of a known drive belt; [Figure 4] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a straight track section of a drive belt having the novel transverse segments designed in accordance with the present invention and shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. [Diagram 5] 1 is a front view of a novel transverse segment according to the invention in a schematic cross-sectional view of the drive belt oriented in the circumferential direction of the drive belt; FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a detail of the novel transverse segment shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the operating principle on which the present invention is based. [Figure 8] 1 is a graph illustrating the advantageous technical effects provided by the present invention compared to the prior art. [Figure 9] FIG. 6 shows the invention when implemented in a basic design of a drive belt, alternative to that of FIG. 5.

[0018] It is to be noted in particular that these drawings are schematic and in particular are not drawn to scale.

[0019] 1 shows diagrammatically a continuously variable transmission, such as for use in a motor vehicle between a prime mover and drive wheels of the vehicle. The continuously variable transmission is generally indicated by the reference numeral 1. The continuously variable transmission 1 has two pulleys 2,3 and a drive belt 6 arranged in a closed loop around the pulleys 2,3. Each pulley 2,3 is provided with a pulley shaft 4 and two pulley sheaves 7,8, of which a first pulley sheave 7 is fixed to the pulley shaft 4 of the respective pulley 2,3 and of which a second pulley sheave 8 is axially movable relative to such pulley shaft 4 but is rotationally fixed to the pulley shaft 4. During operation of the transmission 1, the drive belt 6 is clamped at each pulley 2,3 by and between the respective pulley sheaves 7,8 of each pulley 2,3 with a running radius Rr which can be varied to vary the speed ratio of the transmission by moving the pulley sheaves 7,8 of the pulleys 2,3 towards or away from each other.

[0020] The drive belt 6 has two sets of continuous bands or rings radially stacked on one another, hereinafter referred to as ring stack 9. Transverse segments 10 of the drive belt 6 are arranged on the ring stack 9 and form substantially adjacent rows around the entire circumference of the ring stack 9. For simplicity, only a few of these transverse segments 10 are shown in FIG.

[0021] The transverse segments 10 are arranged to be movable relative to the ring stack 9, at least along the periphery of the latter, so that torque can be transmitted between the transmission pulleys 2, 3 by friction and by the transverse segments 10 pressing against each other and pushing each other forward along the periphery of the ring stack 9 in the direction of rotation of the pulleys 2, 3. The transverse segments 10 of the drive belt 6 and the (rings of) the ring stack 9 are generally made of steel. This particular type of transmission 1 and its operating principle are known per se.

[0022] In Fig. 2 an exemplary embodiment of the drive belt 6 is shown in a cross-sectional view oriented in the length or circumferential direction C of the drive belt 6, i.e. perpendicular to the width or axial direction A and the height or radial direction R of the drive belt 6. In Fig. 3 only the transverse segment 10 of Fig. 2 is shown in a side view in the axial direction A.

[0023] In Fig. 2 the ring stack 9 is shown in cross section and one transverse segment 10 of the drive belt 6 is shown in front view. The ring stacks 9 consist in this case of five individual flat, thin, flexible endless rings 5 ​​each, which are stacked concentrically on one another in the radial direction R to form the respective ring stack 9. In practice, however, these ring stacks 9 often contain more than six endless rings 5, for example 9 or 12 or possibly even more endless rings.

[0024] 2 and 3, the transverse segment 10 is shown to have, in order in the radial direction R, a generally trapezoidal base portion 13, a relatively narrow intermediate portion 14, and a generally triangular upper portion 15. On either side of the intermediate portion 14, slots 33 are defined between the base portion 13 and the upper portion 15, in which the ring stacks 9 are received. In each slot 33, a radially outwardly facing support surface 42 of the base portion 13 contacts the radially inward side of the respective ring stack 9 during operation.

[0025] The front body faces of the transverse segments 10 are generally indicated by the reference numeral 11, whereas the rear body faces of the transverse segments 10 are generally indicated by the reference numeral 12. In the drive belt 6, at least a portion of the front body faces 11 of the transverse segments 10 abuts at least a portion of the rear body faces 12 of the respective preceding transverse segments 10, whereas at least a portion of the rear body faces 12 of the transverse segments 10 abuts at least a portion of the front body faces 11 of the respective succeeding transverse segments 10.

[0026] The transverse segment 10 receives the clamping force applied between the sheaves 7, 8 of each pulley 2, 3 by means of its contact surfaces 37, one such contact surface 37 on each axial side of the transverse segment 10. The contact surfaces 37 diverge radially outwards from one another so as to define between them an acute angle, called the belt angle φ, which exactly coincides with the pulley angle θ defined between the pulley sheaves 7, 8 of the pulleys 2, 3.

[0027] The transverse segments 10 are provided with protrusions 40 projecting from the front face 11 and corresponding cavities 41 provided in the rear face 12. In the drive belt 6, the protrusions 40 of the succeeding transverse segments 10 are at least partially located in the cavities 41 of the preceding transverse segments 10, so that relative movement between these successive transverse segments 10 in a plane perpendicular to the circumferential direction C of the drive belt 6 is prevented or at least limited. In the accompanying drawings, the protrusions 40 and the cavities 41 are shown cylindrical, but protrusions 40 and cavities 41 of different shapes are also known. In particular, it is customary in the art to provide them with a slight conical shape, i.e. a taper. In either case, a nominal gap of 10 to 30 microns is typically provided between the outer periphery of the protrusions 40 and the inner periphery of the cavities 41 (i.e. symmetrically in all directions).

[0028] At the front surface 11 of the transverse segment 10, a beveled edge 18 is defined. The beveled edge 18 is represented by a convexly curved area of ​​the front surface 11, which separates two sections of said front surface 11 in the radial direction R, which are oriented at an angle to each other, so that the transverse segment 10 tapers below the beveled edge 18, i.e. radially inside the beveled edge 18. The important function of the beveled edge 18 is to provide a mutual pressing contact between successive transverse segments 10 when they are slightly rotated relative to each other at the pulleys 2, 3, i.e. in an inclined position. In the design embodiment of FIG. 2, the beveled edge 18 is arranged at the base portion 13 of the transverse segment 10, but it is also known to arrange the beveled edge 18 at least partially at the intermediate portion 14 of the transverse segment 10 (FIG. 9).

[0029] An important function of the inclined edge 18 is to provide a mutual pressing contact between abutting transverse segments 10 in the row of the drive belt 6 when the transverse segments 10 are in a slightly rotated, i.e. inclined, position relative to one another on the pulleys 2,3. In particular, when the leading transverse segment 10 of a pair of successive transverse segments 10 enters between the two pulley sheaves 7,8 of the pulleys 2,3, it is rotated relative to the following transverse segment 10 of said pair that has not yet entered the pulleys 2,3, but the rear face 12 of the leading transverse segment 10 remains in contact at the inclined edge 18 at the front face 11 of the following transverse segment 10. Since the radius of curvature of the inclined edge 18 of the following transverse segment 10 is non-zero, the axially directed contact line between the successive transverse segments 10 is shifted radially inwards as the successive transverse segments 10 rotate progressively relative to one another. Such radial inward movement is not the same for the trailing transverse segments 10 because the beveled edges 18 of the trailing transverse segments 10 are convexly curved and the rear faces 12 of the leading transverse segments 10 are flat. Thus, in order for successive transverse segments 10 to remain aligned in the radial direction R, sliding occurs between the transverse segments 10 as they rotate relative to one another. Although such sliding movement is minimal, after it has been reduced in accordance with the present invention, a significant positive effect on transmission performance has been observed (see FIG. 8).

[0030] According to the invention, in the straight sections, i.e. the raceways, of the drive belt 6, said sliding movement can preferably be reduced by arranging the transverse segments 10 in a position inclined backwards, as shown in Fig. 4. For this purpose, the protrusions 40 of the transverse segments 10 are positioned lower, i.e. radially inside the cavities 41 of the transverse segments 10, to the extent that the radially inner, i.e. lower, of the protrusions 40 are arranged radially inner, i.e. lower, than the radially inner, i.e. lower, of the cavities 41, this new transverse segment design being shown in Fig. 5. In this case, when the protrusions 40 of each succeeding transverse segment 10 are forcibly inserted into the (higher) cavities 41 of each preceding transverse segment 10, while the transverse segments are pressed against each other in the row of transverse segments 10 of the drive belt 6, these transverse segments 10 are inclined backwards with respect to the circumferential direction C, i.e. with respect to the ring stack 9.

[0031] Furthermore, according to the invention, and in particular in the case of the exemplified cylindrical shape of the invention, a radially inward offset CLO can be applied for this purpose from the centerline CA40 of the protrusion 40 to the centerline CA41 of the cavity 41, as shown in detail in FIG. 6, which offset CLO exceeds half the value of the difference between the diameter of the cavity 41 and the diameter of the protrusion 40, i.e. exceeds the nominal gap between them.

[0032] In Fig. 7 the effect of the rearward inclination of the transverse segments 10, i.e. the operating principle on which the invention is based, is illustrated. Each of Figs. A-F of Fig. 7 shows the front face 11 with the inclined edge 18 at the base part 13 with the support surface 42 of the respective subsequent transverse segment 10a and the rear face 12 at the base part 13 with the support surface 42 of the respective preceding transverse segment 10b. The Figs. A, B and C constituting the upper row of Fig. 7 show a conventional transverse segment 10, in particular the contact of two successive transverse segments 10a, 10b. In Fig. A the successive transverse segments 10a, 10b are shown aligned with each other in a vertical arrangement, parallel and substantially perpendicular to the circumferential direction C of the drive belt 6 in a straight track section of the drive belt 6, the successive transverse segments 10a, 10b being in mutual contact at least via a first axially directed contact line LC1 at the upper end of the inclined edge 18 of the subsequent transverse segment 10a. In FIG. B, successive transverse segments 10a, 10b are shown inclined to one another in the curved track section of the drive belt 6 at the pulleys 2, 3. In this inclined arrangement, successive transverse segments 10a, 10b are in mutual contact via an axially oriented second contact line LC2 within the extension of the inclined edge 18 of the succeeding transverse segment 10a, i.e. radially inside the axially oriented first contact line LC1.

[0033] However, the tilt between successive transverse segments 10a, 10b shown in views A and B of Fig. 7 must be accompanied by a sliding movement and not a pure rolling of the (flat) rear surface 12 of the preceding transverse segment 10b on the (convexly curved) inclined edge 18 of the following transverse segment 10a. Otherwise, i.e. in the case of a pure rolling movement, as shown in Fig. C, the support surface 42 of the preceding transverse segment 10b would be located further radially away from the second contact line LC2-10b than the contact line (LC2-10a) of the following transverse segment 10a, which is not allowed by the pulleys 2, 3, whose sheaves 7, 8 impose a common radial position of the transverse segments 10 in the respective curved track sections of the drive belt 6.

[0034] However, in accordance with the present invention, it is possible and preferred to reduce said sliding motion by equalizing the radial inward movement of the contact lines between successive transverse segments 10a, 10b. Views D, E and F, which make up the lower row of Figure 7, show a novel transverse segment 10 which achieves this equalization.

[0035] In FIG. D, two successive novel transverse segments 10a, 10b are shown aligned parallel to one another in a straight track section of the drive belt 6 with a first contact line LC1 between them. In contrast to the known drive belt 6, these novel transverse segments 10a, 10b are inclined backwards with respect to the circumferential direction C of the drive belt 6 with an inclination angle β. In FIG. E, these novel transverse segments 10a, 10b are shown inclined to one another in a curved track section of the drive belt 6 at the pulleys 2, 3 with a second contact line LC2 between them. As shown in FIG. F, the support surfaces 42 of these novel transverse segments 10a, 10b are arranged at a corresponding radial distance from said second contact line LC2, so that preferably no sliding movement or at least no net sliding movement is required between them. In particular, due to the rearward inclination of the novel transverse segment 10, the radial distance between the first and second contact lines LC1, LC2 at the inclined edge 18 is increased, while such radial distance at the rear face 12 is reduced.

[0036] Also in Fig. 7, and in particular in view F of Fig. 7, another feature of the transverse segment 10 according to the invention is shown: the support surface 42 of the novel transverse segment 10 is preferably oriented at an angle of less than 90 degrees relative to the rear face 12 of the transverse segment 10. In this manner, the rearward inclination of the transverse segment 10 in the straight trajectory sections of the drive belt 6 is at least partially compensated, thereby approaching the preferred orientation of the support surface 42 parallel to the ring stack 9. Preferably, in this connection, the support surface 42 is oriented at an angle of 90 degrees minus said inclination angle β.

[0037] In Fig. 8 the advantageous technical effect provided by the present invention is contrasted with the known art. In Fig. 8 a parameter S, which is inversely proportional to the efficiency with which the drive belt 6 can transmit the torque T between the pulleys 2, 3, is plotted against the magnitude of the transmitted torque T. The dotted line CB in Fig. 8 represents the measurement results obtained with the conventional drive belt 6 and the solid line NB represents the measurement results obtained with the new drive belt 6 according to the invention. Fig. 8 visualizes that the new drive belt 6 performs better over almost the entire torque T range, with an efficiency gain that increases with the torque T. Furthermore, in Fig. 8 it is observed that the new drive belt 6 can transmit a slightly higher maximum torque T than the conventional drive belt 6 can transmit.

[0038] The invention is not limited to the basic design of the transverse segment 10 shown in Figs. 1 to 6 with two ring stacks 9 arranged on each side of the intermediate portion 14. Rather, the invention is applicable to any type of drive belt 6 consisting of a transverse segment 10 individually and movably attached to at least one ring stack 9. In this connection, Fig. 9 shows in cross section a different type of drive belt 6 with only one ring stack 9. In this case, the transverse segment 10 is provided with one central notch 16 arranged between two pillar portions 17 of the transverse segment 10 extending radially outward from each axial side of the base portion 13 of the transverse segment 10. Each such pillar portion 17 has a hook portion 18 projecting above the central opening 5 in order to confine the ring stack 9 in the central notch 16. Furthermore, each pillar portion 17 is provided with a projection 40 and a recess 41, of which the projection 40 is arranged lower in the respective pillar portion 17 to such an extent that the lower edge of the projection 40 is arranged below the lower edge of the cavity 41 according to the invention.

[0039] The present disclosure relates to and includes all features of the appended claims, as well as the entirety of the preceding description and all details of the accompanying drawings. Reference signs in parentheses in the claims do not limit the scope of the claims, but are merely provided as non-binding examples of the respective features. The claimed features may, in some cases, be applied separately in any product or any process, but it is also possible to provide any combination of two or more such features in any product or any process.

[0040] The invention represented by this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and / or examples expressly mentioned herein, but encompasses any amendments, modifications, and practical applications of the embodiments that may occur to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A transverse segment (10) for a drive belt (6), the drive belt (6) being provided with a ring stack (9) consisting of a number of overlapping bands and a number of transverse segments (10) arranged movably in line on the ring stack (9), the transverse segment (10) defining a slot (33) for receiving the ring stack (9), the slot (33) being defined radially inwardly by a support surface (42) of a base portion (13) of the transverse segment (10) for supporting the radially inner side of the ring stack (9), the transverse segment (10) further comprising:

1. A transverse segment (10) having a portion (15; 17) arranged radially outward of the ring stack (9), in which a protrusion (40) is provided on a front face (11) of the transverse segment (10) and a cavity (41) is provided on an oppositely arranged rear face (12) of the transverse segment (10), characterized in that the protrusion (40) is positioned radially inward on the front face (11) with respect to a position of the cavity (41) on the rear face (12), wherein the radial inner side of the protrusion (40) is arranged radially inward with respect to the radial inner side of the cavity (41).

2. 2. The transverse segment (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the protrusion (40) and the cavity (41) of the transverse segment (10) are provided with a mainly cylindrical shape, the outer diameter of the protrusion (40) is smaller than the inner diameter of the cavity (41), and the center line (CA40) of the protrusion (40) is arranged radially inside the center line (CA41) of the cavity (41), wherein the mutual radial distance between both center lines is greater than half the difference in diameter between the protrusion (40) and the cavity (41).

3. The transverse segment (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that said radial distance has a value ranging from 0.035 mm to 0.100 mm.

4. 4. The transverse segment (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the transverse segment (10) is provided with an inclined edge (18) in the form of a region of the front surface (11) of the transverse segment (10) that is curved convexly in the radial direction and extends perpendicular to the radial direction along the width of the transverse segment (10).

5. 5. The transverse segment (10) according to claim 1, wherein the angle between the support surface (42) and the rear surface (12) of the transverse segment (10) is less than 90 degrees.

6. 6. A drive belt (6), comprising a ring stack (9) consisting of a plurality of overlapping bands and a row of transverse segments (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which are movably arranged on the ring stack (9) in a row of transverse segments (10), and wherein a protrusion (40) of the transverse segments (10) is arranged in a cavity (41) of each adjacent transverse segment (10) in the row of transverse segments (10), characterized in that at least in a straight section of the drive belt (6), the transverse segments (10) are inclined backwards with respect to the ring stack (9), and an angle (β) between a rear face (12) of the transverse segment (10) and the ring stack (9) is less than 90 degrees.

7. 7. The drive belt (6) according to claim 6, characterized in that the angle between the support surface (42) of the transverse segment (10) and the rear surface (12) is 90 degrees minus the angle (β) by which the transverse segment is inclined backwards with respect to the ring stack (9).

Images