Patent ID: 7014024

Claim:
A clutch plate comprising: a core; a plurality of friction material segments situated on said core a first one of said plurality of friction material segments defining a first edge and a second one of said plurality of friction material segments defining a second edge, said first and second edges cooperating to define a gap therebetween, at least a portion of said gap being defined by said core and said first and second edges; and said first one of said plurality of friction material segments comprising a first outer edge and a corner between said outer edge and said first edge of said first one of said plurality of material segments; at least a portion of said second edge comprising a curvature defining a sweep angle and cooperating with said corner to define an inlet area to said gap that is generally wedge-shaped, said generally wedge-shaped inlet area causing an inlet pressure at said inlet area to be greater than an outlet pressure at an outlet area of said gap when said core rotates.