Patent ID: 7353924

Claim:
A hydrodynamic torque converter comprising: a pump wheel; a turbine wheel which shifts axially toward the pump wheel when the converter is operating in a pull mode and away from the converter when the converter is operating in a push mode; a stator located between the pump wheel and the turbine wheel; a freewheel on which the stator is mounted, the freewheel comprising a first freewheel component and a second freewheel component which lies radially inside the first freewheel component; a drive-side axial bearing between the turbine wheel and the freewheel; and a drive-side thrust washer between the drive-side axial bearing and the freewheel, the thrust washer comprising a stationary element in axial contact with the first freewheel component, the stationary element contacting the axial bearing to limit axial travel of the turbine wheel toward the pump wheel, and a pressure exerting device which is fixed against rotation but free to move axially with respect to the stationary element, the pressure exerting device comprising a compensating element which causes the pressure exerting device to maintain axial contact with both the drive-side axial bearing and the second freewheel component regardless of the position of the turbine wheel with respect to the pump wheel.