Pulley assembly with an improved clutch for a continuously variable transmission

1. A pulley assembly for a continuously variable transmission in a vehicle, said pulley assembly comprising:

a shaft having an axis,

a supporting element rotatable about said axis,

a first half pulley rotationally connected to said supporting element,

a second half pulley facing said first half pulley for defining a seat adapted to accommodate a belt of said transmission,

at least one of said first and second half pulleys being longitudinally mobile with respect to said supporting element, and

a clutch comprising:

a second supporting element connected to said shaft,

a drum connected to said supporting element and accommodating said second supporting element, and

a plurality of friction elements hinged to said second supporting element about respective hinge axes to selectively cooperate with said drum,

wherein respective centers of gravity of said friction elements are located before the respective hinge axes with respect to a given direction of rotation of said shaft which defines a forward running condition of said vehicle such that each friction element is configured to rotate about the respective hinge axis to contact said drum with a rotating direction that is the same as said given direction of rotation to achieve a trailing mounting of said friction elements, and

one-way coupling means arranged between said supporting element and said shaft to allow the driving of said shaft when the angular speed of said supporting element tends to exceed that of said shaft.

2. A pulley assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said supporting element is a sleeve at least partially accommodating said shaft, the pulley assembly comprising rotatable supporting means radially arranged between said shaft and said sleeve.

3. A pulley assembly according to claim 2 , wherein said one-way coupling means is integrated in said rotatable supporting means.

4. A pulley assembly according to claim 3 , wherein said rotatable supporting means comprises a first and a second bearing and

wherein said one-way coupling means is integrated on at least one of said first and second bearing.

5. A pulley assembly according to claim 3 , wherein at least one of said first and second bearings comprises a roller cage.

6. A pulley assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said one-way coupling means comprises at least one overrunning joint.

7. A pulley assembly according to claim 1 further comprising:

a biasing element cooperating with at least one of said first and second half pulleys for moving away said second half pulley from said first half pulley.

8. A pulley assembly according to claim 7 , wherein said biasing element cooperates with a fixed element rigidly connected to said supporting element and with a support rigidly connected to a peripheral portion of said at least one of said first and second half pulleys.

9. A pulley assembly according to claim 1 , wherein said second supporting element is rigidly connected to said shaft and wherein said drum is rigidly connected to said supporting element.

10. A pulley assembly according to claim 1 further comprising:

control means for regulating a longitudinal portion of said second half pulley, wherein said shaft comprises a coupling element adapted to be connected to a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine.

11. A pulley assembly according to claim 10 , wherein said control means comprises a guiding element rigidly connected to said supporting element, a plurality of centrifugal elements mobile on said guiding element and cooperating with said second half pulley for defining the position of said second half pulley.