The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 2003
Filed:
Aug. 21, 2002
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota, JP;
Abstract
A torque converter provided with a lock-up clutch and including a pump impeller, a turbine runner, a turbine hub, a stator, a clutch piston rotatable with the turbine runner and cooperating with the pump impeller to define an engaging chamber, a front cover cooperating with the clutch piston to define a releasing chamber and a friction member attached to the front cover, and wherein the lock-up clutch is placed in a slipping state for slipping engagement between the clutch piston and the front cover through the friction member, by a controlled difference between pressures of a working fluid in the engaging and releasing chambers, and the pump impeller and the stator cooperate to define of a first and a second fluid passage both of which communicate with the engaging chamber, while the stator and the turbine hub cooperate with each other to define the other of the first and second fluid passages, and wherein the lock-up clutch is brought into the slipping state with a supply flow of the fluid into the engaging chamber through the first fluid passage and a discharge flow of the fluid from the engaging chamber through the second fluid passage.