Patent ID: 8556056
Filing Date: 2013-10-15
Classification: F16D

Abstract:
1. A clutch assembly for connecting a vehicle engine to a transmission assembly comprising: a flywheel connected to the vehicle engine; a pair of forward and rearward annular clutch disks; a center plate extending to a peripheral edge with a plurality of fingers extending radially and being integral with said center plate; an adapter ring defining a terminal edge and surrounding said center plate with each of said adapter ring and said center plate presenting opposite surfaces being coplanar relative to one another as said center plate is disposed within said adapter ring; a cover for enclosing said forward and rearward annular clutch disks, said adapter ring and said center plate to said flywheel; and a plurality of mechanical connections defined by a pair of links sandwiching said fingers to rigidly engage said adapter ring and said center plate to prevent relative movement between said center plate and adapter ring to ensure that said center plate is fixedly and rigidly sandwiched within said adapter ring thereby linking said center plate to said adapter ring at multiple locations about said adapter ring thereby forming rigid engagement between said adapter ring and said center plate to limit relative movement between said center plate and said adapter ring and form a space defined between said flywheel and said rearward annular clutch disk to provide easy access for removing smaller particles, contaminants and fluids from the space.