The Making of the Full Toroidal Variator

摘要

The full toroidal variator in its main application in an infinitely variable transmission demonstrated that it has reached the required technical maturity. Although successful implementations on various vehicles, from mowers to SUVs, the technology remains largely unknown to most of the engineering community. The recent market shift, from the automotive to the industrial and agricultural sector, further widens the range of applications and technical requirements. This paper revisits the key features of the full toroidal variator. Starting with the basic geometrical concept, the actuation as well as the control of the variator and of the powertrain are then briefly reviewed pointing out the main mechanisms that permit to meet the requirements on fuel economy, enhanced maneuverability as well as other control objectives specific to each application.