Patent ID: 7246691

Claim:
A fluid friction clutch suitable for a driving motor vehicle fan, comprising: a rotatably mounted shaft; a drive element fixedly mounted on the shaft so as to rotate with it; a driven element rotatably mounted about the axis of the shaft to form a coupling region between the drive element and the driven element for accommodating a viscous fluid; a fan member connected to an outer region of the driven element by a fixing element, wherein the fixing element comprises an annular ring segment at least partly encapsulated in a plastic material; and a fan head comprising a plastic material, wherein the fan head at least partly encapsulates the ring segment; wherein the ring segment comprises at least one opening receiving a connecting member for connecting the ring segment to the driven element, wherein the at least one opening is disposed in an annular portion of the ring segment at a position that is at a predefined radial distance such that the at least one opening at least partly overlaps with an area of the fixing element encapsulated by plastic; and wherein a gap in the plastic encapsulation of the fixing element is selectively provided at the at least one opening for accommodating the connecting member.