Patent ID: 7909151
Filing Date: 2011-03-22
Classification: F16H

Abstract:
1. A lock-up clutch mechanism for a torque converter, comprising a lock-up piston and a front cover having an engagement surface capable of being engaged with said lock-up piston, and in which a friction material is stuck to a planar surface of one of said lock-up piston and said front cover, and in which engagement and disengagement are performed in accordance with a hydraulic pressure difference between said front cover and said lock-up piston, wherein: said friction material includes a first friction surface disposed at an outer diameter side and a tapered second friction surface disposed at an inner diameter side; and wherein: when said lock-up piston and said front cover are slip-controlled, said first friction surface is engaged with uniform face pressure, and, when said lock-up piston and said front cover are substantially integrally joined with a greater hydraulic pressure difference than under slip control, maximum face pressure is generated at a border between said first friction surface and said second friction surface, said border being located at about one-fourth-way from the outer diameter end to the inner diameter end of the friction material, and said first friction surface and said second friction surface are formed at a certain angle not coplanar with respect to each other, and said second friction surface is inclined away from said front cover by an amount greater than an amount through which the inner diameter side of said piston is deformed toward said front cover by said greater hydraulic pressure difference.