Patent ID: 7222701

Claim:
A backing plate for a friction assembly, the backing plate comprising: a body having a first surface for receiving a friction material thereon and a second surface opposed to the first surface and defining a thickness therebetween; and one or more retention members defined on the first surface, each retention member having: a protrusion extending outwardly away from the first surface of the body, the protrusion having a proximal end connected to the first surface and a free distal end, and the protrusion having a generally constant width from the proximal end to the distal end; and a groove associated with the protrusion, defined in the first surface of the body, the groove extending from a position on the first surface of the body to the proximal end of the protrusion, the groove having a bottom wall having an inclined section extending at an angle relative to the first surface and a generally flat section generally parallel to the first surface, and the groove further having a width that generally corresponds to the width of the protrusion, wherein the protrusion has a thickness that is substantially larger at the proximal end than at the free distal end and the thickness of the protrusion adjacent the proximal end is larger than the depth of the generally flat section of the groove, and the free distal end of the protrusion is curved away from the associated groove to define a longer convex wall and a shorter concave wall between the proximal end and the free distal end so that the protrusion presents a distorted semi-triangular cross-section with the free distal end curved above the distorted semi-triangular cross-section.