Patent ID: 7866454

Claim:
A torque converter comprising: a torque input member; a torque output member; a pump impeller interlocked with said torque input member; a turbine runner disposed in opposed relation to said pump impeller and interlocked with said torque output member; a stator having a stator blade portion disposed between respective inner peripheral portions of said pump impeller and said turbine runner; and a pair of thrust bearings disposed on respective axially-opposite sides of an inner peripheral portion of said stator to receive a thrust force acting on said stator, wherein said torque converter is designed to circulate fluid between respective ones of said pump impeller, said turbine runner and said stator blade portion so as to transmit torque from said torque input member to said torque output member through said fluid, said torque converter being characterized in that said stator comprising: an annular-shaped non-rotatable member installed relative to a support base of said torque converter in a rotation-inhibited manner; a rotatable member approximately annularly disposed around an outer peripheral portion of said non-rotatable member; and a one-way clutch interposed between said non-rotatable member and said rotatable member to support said rotatable member in such a manner as to allow said rotatable member to be rotated in only one direction relative to said non-rotatable member, wherein said rotatable member including: a cylindrical portion having an inner peripheral surface interlocked with said one-way clutch, and an extension portion which extends from an approximately axially-central region of said cylindrical portion in a radially-outward direction relative to said cylindrical portion, and has an axial thickness less than that of said cylindrical portion, wherein the axial thickness of said extension portion gradually decreases in a radially-inward direction toward said cylindrical portion with the axial thickness of said extension portion being smallest in a connection region with said cylindrical portion whereby a step region between said extension portion and said cylindrical portion is provided on respective axially-opposite sides of said extension portion; and said thrust bearings are arranged in the step region and disposed to clamp said extension portion from said respective axially-opposite sides of said extension portion at respective positions located radially outwardly relative to said cylindrical portion.