RVT
Reversible Variable Transmissions or RVTs
For engine driven vehicles, RVTs are available with ratios from high overdrive (output 2.6 times faster than input) over standstill to reverse.
The RVT drives off, changes ratio and driving direction between forward and reverse without clutches, torque converter or any other slipping component and without (expensive) gears.
The RVT can keep a vehicle at standstill on a slope, even with a shut-down engine, practical for start-stop-functionality.
RVT: efficiency map
The latest RVT designs have an almost flat efficiency map as high as 94.9% (including hydraulic controls). The latest RVT designs (generation 3) have an almost flat efficiency map as high as 95.2% including hydraulic controls. The steep canyon around speed ratio zero illustrates the minor losses over the whole operating area. The efficiencies remain practically equal while changing the ratio.
