Lock-up clutch mechanism of torque converter

Abstract

A lock-up clutch mechanism (7) includes a piston member (44), a drive member (52), a driven member (53), and a torsion spring (54). The piston member (44) is arranged between the front cover (14) and the turbine (19), such that the piston member (44) moves freely in an axial direction for engaging with and disengaging from the front cover (14). The drive member (52) includes a pair of plate elements (56) and (57), to which torque is inputted from the piston member (44). The plate elements (56) and (57) are axially arranged side by side and are fixedly couple to each other and define a spring receiving section. The driven member (53) extends between the plate elements (56) and (57) and has a window hole (58) corresponding to the spring receiving section. The torsion spring (54) is retained within the window hole (58) and is supported by the spring receiving section. The torsion spring (54) elastically couples the plate elements (56) and (57) and the driven member (53) in a rotational direction. The plate elements (56) and (57) are manufactured by a drawing process in which the plate elements (56) and (57) are drawn to different draw depths respectively. A thickness of one of the plate elements having a longer draw depth is smaller than a thickness of the other of the plate elements having a shorter draw depth.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.