Patent ID: 8348037

Claim:
A torque converter, comprising: a cover; a turbine shell; a turbine hub fixed to the turbine shell; a piston for a lock-up clutch, said piston axially displaceable in said torque converter; a plurality of leaf springs, each leaf spring in the plurality of leaf springs attached to said piston and said cover thereby attaching said piston to said cover; a reaction ring formed from a first piece of material different from a second piece of material forming the cover, the reaction ring fixedly attached to said cover; a clutch plate positioned between said piston and said reaction ring; a cover plate attached to said clutch plate; and, a plurality of plugs, wherein: said cover, said piston, said turbine shell and said turbine hub form respective portions of first, second, and third separate fluid chambers within said torque converter; the piston includes a plurality of holes, each hole of said plurality of holes aligned over an attachment point of a respective spring from said plurality of leaf springs and said cover; each said plug seals said respective hole against outward pressure flow and inward pressure flow; a first fluid chamber is at least partially formed by the piston, the turbine shell, and the turbine hub; a second fluid chamber is at least partially formed by the piston and the cover; and, when pressure in the second chamber is greater than pressure in the first chamber, the piston displaces to close the lock-up clutch.