Gearbox clutch mechanism for motorized lock
AssigneeMaster Lock Company LLC
InventorsMark Caterino, Wai P. Wong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A clutch for a door lock may comprise an output shaft configured to operate the door lock, and a thumb turn shaft coupled to the output shaft comprising an inclined projection. The clutch may also comprise an input gear configured to be coupled to an actuator output, and a coupler coupled to the input gear such that the coupler and input gear rotate together. The coupler may be configured to translate between an engaged position and a disengaged position, where the inclined projection of the thumb turn shaft is configured to move the coupler from the disengaged position to the engaged position when the thumb turn shaft rotates relative to the coupler. In the disengaged position the coupler may be decoupled from the output shaft.
Claims20
A clutch for a door lock, the clutch comprising:
- an output shaft configured to operate the door lock, wherein the output shaft rotates about a longitudinal axis;
- a thumb turn shaft coupled to the output shaft, wherein the thumb turn shaft comprises an inclined projection;
- an input gear operatively couplable to the output shaft, the input gear configured to be coupled to an actuator output;
- and
- a coupler coupled to the input gear such that the coupler and the input gear rotate together about the longitudinal axis, wherein the coupler is configured to translate along the longitudinal axis between an engaged position and a disengaged position, wherein in the engaged position the coupler is coupled to the output shaft, wherein in the disengaged position the coupler is decoupled from the output shaft, and wherein the inclined projection of the thumb turn shaft is configured to move the coupler from the engaged position to the disengaged position when the thumb turn shaft rotates relative to the coupler.
A clutch for a door lock, the clutch comprising:
- an output shaft configured to operate the door lock, wherein the output shaft rotates about a longitudinal axis;
- an input gear configured to be coupled to an actuator output, wherein the input gear comprises an inclined wedge;
- and
- a clutch disk configured to translate along the longitudinal axis between an engaged position and a disengaged position, wherein in the engaged position the clutch disk is engaged with the output shaft such that the clutch disk transmits torque between the input gear and the output shaft, wherein in the disengaged position the clutch disk is decoupled from the output shaft such that the input gear is decoupled from the output shaft, and wherein the inclined wedge of the input gear is configured to engage the clutch disk to move the clutch disk from the disengaged position to the engaged position when the input gear rotates relative to the clutch disk.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.