A torque converter includes a front cover arranged to receive a torque and a lock-up clutch engaged with the front cover. The torque converter further includes a damper assembly engageable with the lock-up clutch. The damper assembly includes an inner spring assembly, an outer spring assembly arranged radially outside of the inner spring assembly, and a lower cover plate supporting the inner spring assembly. The lower cover plat includes a chamfer configured to retain the outer spring assembly in a spring window.

A torque fluctuation inhibiting device is disclosed. The torque fluctuation inhibiting device includes an input member, an elastic member, a mass body and a centrifugal element. The input member includes a pair of input plates disposed in axial alignment. The input member is disposed to be rotatable. The elastic member is held by the pair of input plates. The mass body is disposed to be rotated with the input member and be rotatable relative to the input member. The centrifugal element is disposed to be radially movable by a centrifugal force acting thereon in rotation of the input member. The centrifugal element is disposed between the pair of input plates.

Presented are clutch control systems for torque converter (TC) assemblies, methods for making/operating such TC assemblies, and vehicles equipped with such TC assemblies. A TC assembly includes a housing that drivingly connects to an electric motor, and an output member that drivingly connects to a multi-gear transmission. Rotatable within the TC housing are a turbine attached to the TC output member and an impeller juxtaposed with the turbine. A lockup clutch is operable to lock the housing to the output member. A system controller is programmed to receive a shift signal to shift the powertrain from a neutral or park operating mode to a forward driving operating mode; responsive to receipt of this shift signal, the lockup clutch is opened. The system controller then receives a TCC lock signal to lock the lockup clutch; responsive to receipt of the TCC lock signal, the lockup clutch is closed.

A damper device including an input element and an output element; an elastic body transmitting torque between the input element and the output element; and a rotary inertia mass damper having a mass body. The rotary inertia mass damper includes a sun gear, a carrier rotatably supporting pinion gears, and a ring gear that meshes with the pinion gears and serving as the mass body. A pair of washers is located on both sides of each pinion gear axially. The ring gear includes an annulus gear having internal teeth meshing with the pinion gears and a weight body fixed to the annulus gear such that the weight body is in contact with a side surface of the annulus gear. An inner circumferential surface of the weight body is supported in a radial direction by a tip of the pinion gear or an outer circumferential surface of the washer.

A torque converter, including: a cover to receive torque; an impeller including an impeller shell non-rotatably connected to the cover and an impeller blade; a turbine including a turbine shell and a turbine blade; a first vibration damper including a drive plate to receive torque from the cover, a first cover plate including first and second portions, a first spring directly engaged with the drive plate and the first portion of the first cover plate, and a second cover plate non-rotatably connected to the first cover plate, surrounding a portion of the first spring in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal axis for the first spring, and including an opening; and a second vibration damper including a cover plate non-rotatably connected to the turbine shell, and a second spring directly engaged with the cover plate for the second vibration damper and with the second portion of the first cover plate.

A torque converter includes an impeller, a turbine-piston hydrodynamically drivable by the impeller, and an annular lockup resistance member. The impeller includes an impeller shell. The turbine-piston includes a turbine-piston shell having a turbine-piston flange with a first flange surface facing an engagement surface of the impeller shell and an opposite second flange surface. The turbine-piston is movable axially toward and away from the engagement surface to position the torque converter into and out of a lockup mode in which the turbine-piston flange is mechanically locked to the impeller shell. The annular lockup resistance member is coaxially aligned with the rotational axis, fixedly connected and non-rotatable relative to the turbine-piston flange, and configured to resist axial movement of the turbine-piston flange toward the engagement surface and into lockup with the impeller shell.

A torsional-vibration-reducing-device manufacturing method includes: molding an input rotating member and an output rotating member through punching press machining and bending press machining performed on plate materials; performing heat treatment on the molded input rotating member and the molded output rotating member; and assembling a damper product that includes, as components, the input rotating member and the output rotating member on which heat treatment has been performed, and a coil spring. The molding includes drilling processing for forming a hole opened in an outer-diameter direction with respect to the center line of rotation, at a position of at least one rotating member of the input rotating member and the output rotating member, the position serving as a spring holding section for holding the coil spring. The method further include cleaning the damper product with a cleaning solution and removing the cleaning solution remaining after the cleaning.

A vibration damping device including a supporting member rotating with a rotation element around a rotation center of the rotation element; a restoring force generation member coupled to the supporting member to transfer torque to and from the supporting member and configured to swing with rotation of the supporting member; and an inertia mass body coupled to the supporting member via the restoring force generation member and swinging around the rotation center with the restoring force generation member with rotation of the supporting member, in which the restoring force generation member swings around a swing center so that a relative position with respect to the inertia mass body does not change, and a distance between a center of gravity of the restoring force generation member and the swing center changes with a change in a swing angle of the restoring force generation member with respect to the inertia mass body.

A torque converter is provided. The torque converter includes an impeller including an impeller shell, a turbine including a turbine shell and a stator axially between the turbine and the impeller. A first fluid flow is generated between the impeller and the stator and a second fluid flow is generated between the turbine and the stator. The torque converter further includes a thrust bearing axially between the impeller and the stator or axially between the turbine and the stator. The thrust bearing includes a bearing surface arranged for maintaining a hydrodynamic film thereon in a region of the first fluid flow or the second fluid flow during operation of the torque converter. A method of forming a torque converter is also provided.

A dynamic vibration absorbing device for an automobile can be on an output-side member of a torque converter. The dynamic vibration absorbing device includes a rotary member, a mass part, and an elastic member. The rotary member is fixed to the output-side member. The rotary member can be rotated about a rotational center of the output-side member. The mass part includes a first accommodation part. The mass part is for attenuating vibration of the output-side member by rotating about the rotational center relative to the rotary member. The elastic member is held by the first accommodation part. The elastic member elastically couples the rotary member and the mass part in a rotational direction. The elastic member is for generating a hysteresis torque by sliding against the first accommodation part in rotation of the rotary member.