Patent ID: RE38691

Claim:
A flywheel assembly for transmitting torque from a crankshaft of an engine to a friction member of a clutch disk assembly, comprising: a flywheel having a friction surface for engagement with the friction member of the clutch disk assembly; a flexible plate deflectable in an axial direction parallel to the crankshaft and rigid in a rotational direction of the crankshaft and the flywheel, having a radially outer portion fixed to said flywheel and a radially inner portion adapted to be fixed to an end of said crankshaft; a stopper mechanism for restraining a bending deflection of the flexible plate when the amount of the bending deflection of said flexible plate exceeds a predetermined amount, said stopper mechanism including an elastic stopper disposed between said flexible plate and said flywheel, and part of said elastic stopper abuts against the flexible plate and the flywheel when the amount of the bending deflection of said flexible plate exceeds the predetermined amount, said elastic stopper being fixed to said flexible plate maintaining a predetermined amount of space between said elastic stopper and said flywheel, said elastic stopper being disposed between said radially inner portion of said flexible plate and a radially inner portion of said flywheel, said elastic stopper being flexible in an axial direction parallel to the crankshaft and having a portion whose axial rigidity is higher than the axial rigidity of said flexible plate, said elastic stopper elastically urges said radially inner portion of said flexible plate toward said crankshaft, and said elastic stopper being a washer-shaped spring having a radially inner portion connected to said radially inner portion of said flexible plate and having a plurality of slits extending radially from a radially outermost edge.