Patent ID: 7401688

Claim:
A torque converter for transmitting torque from an engine to an input shaft of the transmission, comprising: a front cover being configured to receive torque from the engine; an impeller being fixed to said front cover defining a fluid chamber therewith; a turbine being located within said fluid chamber opposing said impeller; a stator being located between a radially inner portion of said impeller and a radially inner portion of said turbine to adjust a fluid flowing from said turbine to said impeller; a lock-up device being configured to transmit mechanically torque from said front cover to the input shaft and including an elastic member; and a torus being constituted by the impeller, the turbine and the stator, said torus having a radial dimension being longer than an axial dimension thereof, and a longitudinal axis thereof being inclined away from a straight line perpendicular to a rotational axis, a radially outer portion of the longitudinal axis being nearer to the engine than a radially inner portion thereof, and said elastic member being located adjacent on the front cover side of a radially inner portion of said torus.